please empty your brain below
Bring on eScooters. London is so painfully behind our European neighbours on this and it has frankly revolutionised getting round the cities that I have tried them in (including Stockholm, Copenhagen, Warsaw and Lisbon).

There seems to be an awful lot of NIMBYism going on when it comes to them.

Jordan D | 06.06.21 - 7:34 a.m. | #

Blimey, what time were you at the Old Kent Road? The only time I've seen it like that was at the height of lockdown!

And a big raspberry to e-scooters from me. Seen several pedestrians hit by them (no rider bothered to stop) although this has been tempered by the sight of a spectacular face plant by a scooterist who was flashily texting while riding downhill in Deptford. The good citizens of the cities mentioned above may well obey all the rules but chavvy Londoners won't.

Chris | 06.06.21 - 7:50 a.m. | #

E-scooters? For goodness sake! They'll join in with the mad cyclists who are already making our pavements dangerous enough!
Will any government/council ever,ever make it safe for people to walk?

Jo W | 06.06.21 - 8:17 a.m. | #

To repeat... the trial "will permit hired speed-limited scooters on roads and cycleways."

That's the intention anyway.

diamond geezer | Homepage | 06.06.21 - 8:20 a.m. | #

Sunday: Sort of hotel a Russian tourist might stay.
Friday: I remember the Wendy's in Shaftesbury Avenue. Likewise, totally underwhelmed. If they sell real food, what is fake food?

scrumpy | 06.06.21 - 8:28 a.m. | #

The Sun Pavilion is indeed colourful. I quite like it.

Leuconoe | 06.06.21 - 8:56 a.m. | #

A little embarrassed to say how quickly I fired up a new tab to find out exactly when and where that Wendy's is opening.

MK | 06.06.21 - 9:33 a.m. | #

Wow - outstanding subway photo!

cau1khead | 06.06.21 - 9:57 a.m. | #

Sunday: I once ran all the Monopoly properties, though did it in two goes as the full things would have been 15 miles. (My rules were I had to run on or across any of the roads, not run the whole things). The first run started at Old Kent Road, before knocking off the rest of the browns, the light blues and all the rail stations (ending at Marylebone).

Greg | 06.06.21 - 10:44 a.m. | #

my daughter Wendy is very excited to see "her" restaurant coming back

Caroline | 06.06.21 - 10:45 a.m. | #

what's the chance of coincidence that both DG and Jago write about Upminster and its swastika on the same day

Caroline | 06.06.21 - 10:54 a.m. | #

Is that a reverse swastika? Pretty sure the nazi version goes clockwise (albeit at 45 degrees), just like this one.

dg writes: Ah yes, never trust Wikipedia, sorry.

If the Upminster Bridge one was installed in 1934, the year after Hitler took power in Germany, it's hard to imagine this wasn't deliberate.

Will | 06.06.21 - 11:04 a.m. | #

I seem to remember a Wendy's on The Strand, not far from Charing Cross. I thought it was great and would have gone there more but for its premature demise. (Same goes for the Taco Bell which had a brief existence near Leicester Square)

RogerW | 06.06.21 - 11:04 a.m. | #

So now I have to look out for selfish scooterists as well as selfish cyclists who refuse to stop at red lights and pedestrian crossings.

JohnC | 06.06.21 - 11:09 a.m. | #

I welcome anything that will take cars off the roads, but also agree with those complaining about lack of consideration for pedestrians. If they're going to become legal there also needs to be a clampdown on pavement riding for both e-scooters and bikes, which can go just as fast.

I also saw that you need to have a full or provisional driver's licence to hire them - but presumably not to go into the e-scooter shop that has opened up on a local High Street to buy one!

Took a look at Wendys out of interest as I remember them from the late 1980s. Typically, 6 choices of hamburger, 4 choices of chicken burger, but us veggies have one option to take it or leave it! Still, doing better than when I was in America where there was no veggie option at all! I shan't be rushing out to try it!

Cornish Cockney | 06.06.21 - 11:16 a.m. | #

I think it's great that so many young people have been using escooters to get around during the past year. They don't emit fumes and they take up very little space.

Admittedly I haven't been hit by one, although I had a close call a couple of weeks ago.

ADS | Homepage | 06.06.21 - 11:22 a.m. | #

Three major US burger chains came to Britain: the way that two of them thrived made it seem like it was made for them, and yet the third never seemed to hit it off and pulled out.
Given you mentioned Lidl's, there's something of a similarity with the European supermarket chains: out of the three that came, two gained pretty much phenomenal success, but the third (Netto) somehow never did.

RogerW | 06.06.21 - 12:03 p.m. | #

I remember Wendys, which had a help yourself salad bar but doubt they still do that. Also remember McDonalds arriving with exotic additions such as lettuce and gerkins which you didn't get in a Wimpeys.

kev | 06.06.21 - 12:19 p.m. | #

I quite like the sound of Wendy's Dave's Triple Combo - large cheeseburger, chips and Coke - which at around 1500 calories means I'd only have to add a couple of Mars bars to hit my calorie intake for the day although I suspect my diet would be severely lacking in vitamins and fibre.

milliem | 06.06.21 - 12:52 p.m. | #

The sign in the photograph of Wendy's shouldn't say "since 1969" when they have been closed since c.2001. It should say "Re-established 2021".

I think the last UK branch to close was in Billericay. Former central London branches included: Oxford Street, Strand, Shaftsbury Avenue (in the former GLC tourist information building) and Cambridge Circus.

The one who wonders | 06.06.21 - 2:53 p.m. | #

Taco Bell are staging a comeback, we have one opening here in Wood Green on 14th June. I'm so excited....

Jeremy Buck | 06.06.21 - 4:27 p.m. | #

Upminster Bridge was my nearest station to where I originally lived. To get to town it was easier to go to Upminster and get the fast now c2c train to Fenchurch Street.
I also dread the thought of E Scooters adding to cyclists many of whom seem to have no thought of pedestrians at all especially in Central London.
The last Wendys I remember was in West Ealing Broadway but I can’t recall a thing about the food at all.

Dave B | 06.06.21 - 9:09 p.m. | #

A freshly painted e-scooter parking zone has also appeared outside Mile End Station (on the far side of the road).

Tower Hamlets may end up being more than just a ride-through borough.

diamond geezer | Homepage | 06.06.21 - 10:04 p.m. | #

Sunday: would be interesting to have a side by side comparison shot (from google streetview if nothing else) for other country equivalents of Old Kent Road, e.g. Mediterranean Ave (US-in the very run down Atlantic city..think Blackpool but much scruffier)

MilesT | 07.06.21 - 9:17 a.m. | #

There do seem to be a (very limited) number of escooter parking spots outside of Canary Wharf, but in Tower Hamlets. They are all beside TfL stations so probably on TfL (not Tower Hamlets council) land? As well as Bow Road and Mile End, they are beside Island Gardens, Mudchute, South Quay, Blackwall and Westferry DLR stations.

Mr Oliver G O'Brien | Homepage | 07.06.21 - 9:59 p.m. | #











TridentScan v2.10.0 | Privacy Policy