"Graham J" wrote in message
...
...

Plus, I don't understand why the "Greater" is being lost from "Greater
London". Greater London, to me, means real London plus lots of fringe
areas
that aren't really "London" but close enough to be administered by it.
However, organisations such as BBC London appear to ban the phrase unless
it's in a name of an actual body, eg the GLA.

When we had the GLC the term 'Greater London' did seem to be used a lot
more, though that has never been part of any postal addresses. Now we
have
Greater London Authority the term is just as well defined, but we only
really hear mention of the Mayor Of London and the London Assembly that
comprise it.

And have you noticed how the GLA, Mayor and various other bodies have
re-invented the definition of a "city" to mean the county of Greater London?
And no-one seems to be pick them up on it! In what way the village of Downe
in LB Bromley is part of a "city" I really don't know...

Nick

Nick wrote:
"Epetruk" wrote in message
...
Nick wrote:

London heritage??? We have been part of Kent for generations, and
only sucked into the Greater London experiment so the Tories could
take control of London government (well, mostly). I am sure the
overwhelming majority of residents in Bexley describe, and want to
describe themselves as living in Kent (me included). Maybe those of
us in metropolitan Kent will one day escape from the clutches of
central London and determine our own affairs without inteference.

I loathe Bexley being described as "south London", it really is NOT.
We are part of the Greater London administrative area, that's all,
for all other purposes we are people of Kent. I know "Londoners"
find this hard to believe, but many of us don't wanty to be part of
your high-density overpopulated sprawling urban gloom.

So... which is more reliable in determining where a place is located
- a postcode county system which isn't even required to be used by
the Royal Mail, or the county that administers the borough?

I mean, nobody seriously argues that Bordeaux is in the UK.

Postal counties are pretty well established, based largely on
administrative counties of some decades past. People, not
surprisingly, quote where they live as where they are addressed,
hence people in Bexley say they live in Kent as that's what they
usually quote as their address.

But I've already stated that they aren't even used today by the institution
that introduced them.

And why use postal counties in particular, which after all only reflect the
divisions of England at a particular point in the past? Why not go further
back - or further forward?

Anyway, if I lived in Bexley, I would still get a good night's sleep if my
address was referred to as 'Bexley, London' as long as my letters still got
to my address and people were able to find my address.

--
Akin

aknak at aksoto dot idps dot co dot uk

"Nick" wrote in message
...

I loathe Bexley being described as "south London",
it really is NOT. We are part of the Greater London
administrative area, that's all, for all other
purposes we are people of Kent.

Kentish people, surely...

--
John Rowland - Spamtrapped
Transport Plans for the London Area, updated 2001
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acro...69/tpftla.html
A man's vehicle is a symbol of his manhood.
That's why my vehicle's the Piccadilly Line -
It's the size of a county and it comes every two and a half minutes

John Rowland wrote:
"Nick" wrote in message
...

I loathe Bexley being described as "south London",
it really is NOT. We are part of the Greater London
administrative area, that's all, for all other
purposes we are people of Kent.


Kentish people, surely...

Nah, they live in LB Camden...


--
Dave Arquati
Imperial College, SW7
www.alwaystouchout.com - Transport projects in London

"John Rowland" wrote in message
...
"Nick" wrote in message
...

I loathe Bexley being described as "south London",
it really is NOT. We are part of the Greater London
administrative area, that's all, for all other
purposes we are people of Kent.

Kentish people, surely...

Yes, I wondered who would say that ;-)

Nick

In message , Nick
writes
I know "Londoners" find this hard to believe, but many of us don't
wanty to be part of your high-density overpopulated sprawling urban
gloom.

But people there are probably happy with their co-ordinated public
transport and - when the time comes - Freedom Passes?

--
Ian Jelf, MITG
Birmingham, UK

Registered Blue Badge Tourist Guide for London and the Heart of England
http://www.bluebadge.demon.co.uk

"Ian Jelf" wrote in message
...
In message , Nick
writes
I know "Londoners" find this hard to believe, but many of us don't wanty
to be part of your high-density overpopulated sprawling urban gloom.

But people there are probably happy with their co-ordinated public
transport and - when the time comes - Freedom Passes?

Whenever I have this debate about Bexley part of Greater London or not, the
biggest noise always seems to be made about the Freedom pass!

Arguably, I think the freedom pass is overkill anyway; I would support free
use of local buses to moderately distant locations, trains to central
London, and maybe tube travel in Z1 off-peak. In Bexley, I would guess that
95% of Freedom pass owners use the train and tube extremely rarely, and
probably less than 50% use the buses regularly. I don't believe pensioners
are at all bothered that they can travel to Uxbridge for free. How many
Freedom pass users regularly travel to Dartford and Bluewater and contribute
to "out-of-region" retail spend I wonder :-)

Co-ordinated local public transport? In Bexley, that just means running
buses with the NR network, and you don't need a massive Greater London body
to draw up a few bus timetables to match those of the NR network.

Nick

In message , Nick
writes
"Ian Jelf" wrote in message
...
In message , Nick
writes
I know "Londoners" find this hard to believe, but many of us don't wanty
to be part of your high-density overpopulated sprawling urban gloom.

But people there are probably happy with their co-ordinated public
transport and - when the time comes - Freedom Passes?

Whenever I have this debate about Bexley part of Greater London or not, the
biggest noise always seems to be made about the Freedom pass!
The same happens here in Birmingham when the Centro Senior Citizen pass
is used as justification for Sutton Coldfield being now part of
Birmingham. :-)

Arguably, I think the freedom pass is overkill anyway;
Well I don't but each to their own.

Co-ordinated local public transport? In Bexley, that just means running
buses with the NR network, and you don't need a massive Greater London body
to draw up a few bus timetables to match those of the NR network.
Try living outside the Greater London area [1] and compare transport
provision and co-ordination there and you'll see how LB Bexley *does*
have co-ordination.


[1] or whatever term you prefer for the area administered by the GLA
and Mayor and served by TfL.
--
Ian Jelf, MITG
Birmingham, UK

Registered Blue Badge Tourist Guide for London and the Heart of England
http://www.bluebadge.demon.co.uk

Nick wrote:

Arguably, I think the freedom pass is overkill anyway; I would support free
use of local buses to moderately distant locations, trains to central
London, and maybe tube travel in Z1 off-peak.

I take it that you don't qualify for a Freedom Pass?

--
John Ray (over 60).

Nick wrote:
"Ian Jelf" wrote...
writes
I know "Londoners" find this hard to believe, but many of us don't wanty
to be part of your high-density overpopulated sprawling urban gloom.

But people there are probably happy with their co-ordinated public
transport and - when the time comes - Freedom Passes?

Whenever I have this debate about Bexley part of Greater London or not, the
biggest noise always seems to be made about the Freedom pass!

Probably because the holders have got the most to lose, and will
fiercely resist any attempt to take it away.

Arguably, I think the freedom pass is overkill anyway; I would support free
use of local buses to moderately distant locations, trains to central
London, and maybe tube travel in Z1 off-peak. In Bexley, I would guess that
95% of Freedom pass owners use the train and tube extremely rarely, and
probably less than 50% use the buses regularly.

Do you know any Freedom pass owners? Your guess seems wildly low!

I don't believe pensioners
are at all bothered that they can travel to Uxbridge for free.

Maybe not Uxbridge, but certainly Kingston and Heathrow, despite the
truncation of the 726 at Bromley.

How many
Freedom pass users regularly travel to Dartford and Bluewater and contribute
to "out-of-region" retail spend I wonder :-)

Unlike normal bus passes, Freedom passes are not valid as far as
Bluewater. However, they are valid to Dartford and Swanley on the train
as well as on the bus. Hundreds use Freedom passes to get to Dartford
and Swanley markets, but that's hardly "out of region".

Co-ordinated local public transport? In Bexley, that just means running
buses with the NR network, and you don't need a massive Greater London body
to draw up a few bus timetables to match those of the NR network.

Services in Bexley are so erratic that timetabled connections would be
meaningless. Fortunately most routes are reasonably frequent (with the
exception of the B14 which only runs every 30 minutes on a good day) and
buses serve every rail station in Bexley LB.