Thursday, July 02, 2015

Good Grief! London Underground Will Rumble Underground... All Through The Night!


What you see above seems remarkable: London has an overnight subway service, and will no longer screech and clunk to a halt at midnight, forcing thousands of marooned commuters out into the dark jungle of the night bus with curried chips. 

BUT. Before you rejoice, it's only a couple of lines that will run all night, and only at the weekends! That's the spirit, London, ever-cautious, mustn't grumble, keep calm and just put up with it. 

I have more than a passing interest in London's underground and its night schedule, if only from the melancholic perspective of having once had a friend who died in an accident on the underground late at night. Someone I knew in my two final years at college was in London the summer of our graduation, and — well, it was speculated that he fell asleep on a train that was being parked for the night, woke up in confusion and tried to get out of the still-moving train, and he fell between two carriages. 

I can still hear the voice of another friend on the phone, telling me about Edwin's death, his voice calm and unwavering, yet so sad, so somber.