"Neil Williams" wrote in
ps.com:

Or is it because mineral water is becoming a fashion statement?

The opposite, surely? In the 80s Perrier and Evian in particular were
very much associated with the whole yuppy "red braces" image, whereas
now nobody thinks twice about buying a bottle of water if they're
thirsty. Although given that the stuff can be anything up to twice as
expensive as petrol, perhaps they *should* think twice!

Depends on the individual. I dehydrate very easily, especially in
this kind of weather, so if I'm carrying any sort of bag it'll likely
have a bottle of diluted squash in it somewhere (or similar). I've
done this for years. Not everyone's the same, though.

I always carry a bottle of water with me (filled up from the tap of
course -- Thames Water's finest will do me), but that's more the
occasions when the Central Line decides to come to a juddering halt
leaving me stranded underground in 35C heat for an hour or so. Which
has only happened twice in the last couple of years ...

Iain

On Wed, 5 Jul 2006 16:36:12 +0100 someone who may be congokid
wrote this:-

I may be mistaken but in January 1989 in Sydney I'm sure that the
passenger doors were kept open - presumably for ventilation purposes -
between stations on at least some of the older trains on the Cityrail
system.

Some photographs of the old electric trains on Tyneside appear to
show them moving with open sliding doors. I don't know if my eyes
are deceiving me though.


--
David Hansen, Edinburgh
I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents me
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00023--e.htm#54

congokid wrote:

I may be mistaken but in January 1989 in Sydney I'm sure that the
passenger doors were kept open - presumably for ventilation purposes -
between stations on at least some of the older trains on the Cityrail
system. This year the trains I travelled on there appeared to be newer
and had air conditioning.

Open is the default setting on the Thai railways, at least on
non-aircon stock...

Neil

"Adrian" wrote in message
. 244.170...

Otherwise known as "in the sense that several million Londoners use it
every day, rather than the sense that a handful of railway anoraks
insist
on it being used when they're feeling *really* pedantic and trying to
score
points..."

LOL! And several million tourists and visitors to London. Nice one!

Ian

"Mike Roebuck" wrote in message

Times have changed.

North Country Continental, Gresley buffet car, headed for Harwich,
December 1983:

"Please could I have some hot water to make up my baby son's bottle?"

"Certainly, Sir. That'll be 20p, please"

"You're joking, right?"

"No Sir, 20p please"

And he gave me a receipt for it!

Don't understand. If "times have changed" since 23 years ago, what is the
situation now ?

20p seems dirt cheap to me for heating a few 100ml of water.

Richard [in SG19]



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

Richard M Willis wrote:
"Mike Roebuck" wrote in message

Times have changed.

North Country Continental, Gresley buffet car, headed for Harwich,
December 1983:

"Please could I have some hot water to make up my baby son's bottle?"

"Certainly, Sir. That'll be 20p, please"

"You're joking, right?"

"No Sir, 20p please"

And he gave me a receipt for it!

Don't understand. If "times have changed" since 23 years ago, what is the
situation now ?

I was responding to Neil's comment that they won't supply tap water now
to parents with babies (before he qualified the comment in a later post
that hot water might be available in the form of a tea-less cup of
tea).


20p seems dirt cheap to me for heating a few 100ml of water.

I found it an absolute cheek and a rip-off at the time. I bet there
wasn't a single railway company in Europe other than BR, at the time,
who would have charged me for hot water for a baby's feed.

Of course, the amount I have to pay for my home water supply now is a
far bigger rip-off, and, again, another pecularly British thing.


--
Regards

Mike

Bill Hayles wrote
On 4 Jul 2006 02:20:51 -0700, "Paul Weaver"
wrote:
Of course, a 500ml bottle of water costs 50p in med countries, £2 in
London.

Totally off topic, I admit, but a 5 *litre* bottle of water costs 52
cents in any of the major Spanish supermarkets (including on the
coast). Even a 2 litre bottle of Gaseosa (a light lemonade) costs
26 cents.

Sainsburys etc. have own 'value' brand still and sparkling "Table
Water" at 18p for 2 litres. (26 euro cents) All smaller bottles are
still 40p or more. Special offer this week "lemonade" at 19p for 2
litres. Of course these may not be stocked in the central/ metro/ local
small supermarkets. In these the cheapest per item "gissus a drink"
seems to be milk at 33p (for 568ml).

--
Mike D

On Thu, 06 Jul 2006 15:49:04 +0100, wrote:

On Wed, 05 Jul 2006 19:35:02 +0100, Charles Ellson wrote:

hundreds of staff (to whom the system actually "belongs"

as distinct from belonging to the travelers and taxpayers who pay the
staff's salaries)

The travellers from adjacent counties and the taxpayers in the rest of
the UK ?
--
_______
+---------------------------------------------------+ |\\ //|
| Charles Ellson: | | \\ // |
+---------------------------------------------------+ | |
| // \\ |
Alba gu brath |//___\\|

On Wed, 05 Jul 2006 16:36:12 +0100, congokid wrote:

In article , Paul Terry
writes


I may be mistaken but in January 1989 in Sydney I'm sure that the
passenger doors were kept open - presumably for ventilation purposes

Nope, the passengers were too lazy to close them.

Around that time the last of the non power door carrages were withdrawn
as people kept managing to fall out of moving trains and their relations
kept going to the media about those 'unsafe trains'.

between stations on at least some of the older trains on the Cityrail
system. This year the trains I travelled on there appeared to be newer
and had air conditioning.

Nope. Probably only 2/3 of the fleet is actually air conditioned. All are
power doors though.
If it has opening windows it isn't air conditioned. There is no provision
for opening the windows on Air conditioned stock.

In article na.org.au,
Matthew Geier writes
On Wed, 05 Jul 2006 16:36:12 +0100, congokid wrote:

In article , Paul Terry
writes


I may be mistaken but in January 1989 in Sydney I'm sure that the
passenger doors were kept open - presumably for ventilation purposes

Nope, the passengers were too lazy to close them.

I didn't realise it was up to passengers to close them. I probably
expected them to be controlled by the driver, like on the London
underground.

Around that time the last of the non power door carrages were withdrawn
as people kept managing to fall out of moving trains and their relations
kept going to the media about those 'unsafe trains'.

between stations on at least some of the older trains on the Cityrail
system. This year the trains I travelled on there appeared to be newer
and had air conditioning.

Nope. Probably only 2/3 of the fleet is actually air conditioned. All are
power doors though.
If it has opening windows it isn't air conditioned. There is no provision
for opening the windows on Air conditioned stock.

I think I was on about three trains in total, so not at all a
representative sample. Thanks for the clarification.

--
congokid
Eating out in London? Read my tips...
http://congokid.com