Sleepng on the Tube

This morning I think I saw the worst case of a London Underground sleeper ever. There was a guy on the Piccadilly Line who was completely sprawled out with his feet going right across to the people on the other side. Luckily I was able to grab the seat that was next door but one to him, unlike my unlucky fellow commuters.


You can also see from the picture above that he didn't even stir when someone opposite actually rested on his foot. (Although he must have been oblivious to the fact that he was using someone else's foot as a ... err... footstool).

Sleeping guy spent the vast majority of the journey falling asleep on the men on either side of him. They tried to wake him up by giving massive shrugs of their shoulders, but Sleepy was out for the count. He'd sit up for a nano second and then fall asleep on the other guy. To his credit he gave them a bit of respite by occasionally lolling with his head back, so it hit the window a number of times. That didn't wake him up either.

I got off the Tube as normal, but wouldn't be surprised if the poor guy slept until Cockfosters. If ever there was a case for the "Wakemeupat" stickers, this was it. Although I have no idea what kind of shaking it would have taken to have woken him.

Want to be a Tube Busker?

Budding young Buskers can get the chance to win a 20 minute on a prime performance pitch on the London Underground. On Saturday 11th July 100 musicians aged between 16 and 25 will take part in an event called "Rhythm of London".


To take part, you need to send a 30 seconds - 1 minute (max) film/video of you or your band playing to Rhythm of London Audition Team. A panel of judges will judge will select the top 100 performers, then the top 10 buskers will go to a public vote. It what will be a "busk off" or "Strictly Come Busking Idol X Factor" final, the overall prizes include a year's licence to busk on the Tube, plus a guitar signed & donated by Sting.

Deadline for entries is noon on the 6th July.

Even though there's still no official sponsors for buskers on the Tube, this competition shows that buskers are still backed by Transport for London.

I'm still surprised that an official sponsor hasn't been found to replace thelondonpaper and Capital.fm who were last behind the buskers. Surely there'd be some music company that could get some benefit from advertising on the spots that millions of people pass each day?

London Underground in Bloom

Imagine if the Tube really looked like the image below:


TfL have released a set of digitally transformed pictures which show stations turned into dramatic and tropicial looking urban vistas to launch Underground in Bloom a Tube gardening competition.

"Underground in Bloom is a competition which recognises London Underground (LU) staff who have added to their station by growing flowers and plants and in some cases even fruit and vegetables within a completely urban landscape. This helps to improve the local environment, encourages flora and fauna and makes travelling more pleasant for passengers."


Apparently this year's is the biggest ever competition with almost a quarter of stations, train depots and service control rooms across the system entering. It's not just the suburban stations entering, so look out for a colourful display of flowers at Oxford Circus, Sloane Square, South Kensington and Victoria too.

There are eight categories in the competition - Best Newcomer, Cultivated Garden, Hanging Baskets – the John Knight award, Trains and Service Control, Tubs, the Dennis Sanger special award, Best Overall Garden and Gardens in Bloom an art category.

London Underground's COO Howard Collins, said: "The Underground in Bloom competition shows that there is a lot more to London Underground than tracks, trains and tunnels.

"The work of staff, beyond the call of duty, helps to create a more colourful and pleasant station environment, which can benefit passengers while protecting and maintaining the variety of wildlife and plants on the Tube for the benefit of London as a whole."

Michael Jackson Tube Thriller

I only heard about Michael Jackson's death on the radio this morning, which was a massive shock, specially as I didn't hear it in a news item and was half asleep. He was a big part of my childhood and this video of a group of dancers on the London Underground last year is small tribute.


It was to mark the 25th anniversary of his Thriller album. RIP Michael, you'll be missed.

Tube Drivers' philosophical announcements

For years, I've been collecting overheard unofficial announcements made by London Underground drivers, well now it appears that we'll hear something a little more thoughtful than Mind the Gap. Transport for London have asked artist Jeremy Deller to come up with a list of quotations to put into drivers' communications with passengers.


It appears to be like the Thoughts of the Day on the whiteboards we've seen on some Tube stations. Satre, Gandhi and Einstein are some of the great thinkers you'll be hearing on your journey. The quotes include "An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory" and "A stumble may prevent a fall" to the more philosophical "The afternoon knows what the morning never suspected".


I wonder what bought about this change of heart? What do you think of the announcements and have you heard any yourself yet? The lady at the end of the BBC piece about the announcements, thinks they're a good idea but says that she'd be driven mad by them if there was a quote at every stop on a daily commute.