h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

In Southampton the new football stadium is next to a railway line, the site of the old Northam Station, which closed in 1966. When they built St Mary's Stadium Southampton FC and Southampton City Council hoped that they could get Northam Station re-opened. Unfortunately all attempts to re-open the station, which range from a simple platform allowing fans on and off park & ride trains on match days to a fully re-opened station serving the St Mary's area, have met with refusals from South West Trains, on the grounds that this would be 'too popular'.

That sort of small-minded opposition to something which would be really useful is a PH (especially if they opened a full station there, it is just a short walk from the University and would be more convenient.)

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Gawd, that's terrible. Joined up thinking just doesn't come into it, does it?

And I was going to say "who wants to watch Southampton anyway?" but you have the lovely dancing, totally adorable Graziano Pellè (who also scores goals) so there's one reason Gladbach should totally sign him

Here in Scotland we do things differently. 20,000 Falkirk fans leaving the stadium on Saturday corralled by police into a 6-abreast queue snaking around residential streets for half a mile to Mount Florida station, then waiting for the scheduled trains to arrive and take a puckle away at a time. At no point did the police or railway staff think to direct fans to another nearby station five minutes away that had about a dozen people on the platform. Arriving at Queens St, the departures board directs fans to platform 2. then platform 6 ( where a bemused guard had to fight off the hordes) then platform 11, then the non-existent platform Q before settling again on platform 11. As the doors closed and the train started to move, an announcement was made "This train will not now be stopping at Falkirk"

Oh yes, every trip an adventure with Scotrail

Having to sort out the laces in new trainers.

They always seem to come laced up in some bizarre configuration. Just do them in the good old traditional pattern. It was good enough for my Granddad's boots. It is good enough for mine!

And branding too. Who really cares who made the damn things? Really?

PP.

If you're running in your trainers, you might prefer a different lacing pattern to that of your Granddad's boots. It's not all about 'show'.

What quotes said. Different lacing patterns suit different things and using the most appropriate lacing pattern for the footwear you're using not only improves fit and comfort but can help the footwear stay laced tightly and may even improve speed and efficiency when putting them on.

www.fieggen.com/shoelace/lacingmethods.htm

PH: when work doesn't let you have a day off - ie, my wife wasn't allowed our 10th anniversary off.

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I wonder what proportion of trainers require a lacing pattern suitable for anything other than Walking Around (which I suspect the vast majority of trainers are bought for). And I'm that proportion reflected in the shop.

I suspect that we all know the answer to that.

(And BTW my great grandad was a very successful runner - won prizes - and it is massively unlikely that he ever had trainers OR laced his footwear in anything other than the standard fashion).

This is MY petty hate and nobody is going to deprive me of it. I'm enjoying being a curmudgeon over it.

PP.

PP, for what its worth I'm with you on the laces issue, whether its laces in trainers, shoes, boots or anything in between. You buy new footwear and invariably you have to extricate the laces from the shoes/ boots etc and re-lace them.

>>my great grandad was a very successful runner - won prizes - and it is massively unlikely that he ever had trainers OR laced his footwear in anything other than the standard fashion

OK, but why should that affect your decision now?

Tradition.

Like burning witches you know.

PP.

www.fieggen.com/shoelace/lacingmethods.htm

Disturbingly fascinating.

PP.

I was amazed to discover the effect of different lacing patterns, eg if you want to avoid pressure on certain part of the foot. As I have narrow feet, I often have to change the laces from crossing over on top, to crossing underneath so the uppers can overlap.

Apparently we've all been tying our laces in the wrong way all along:

http://www.ted.com/talks/terry_moore_how_to_tie_your_shoes

Deb

I hate those listicles etc telling me that I've "been doing X wrong all my life" because often, it turns out that I've been doing what the list says, or my way is better.

as for laces, I'm with the "i hate the way shoes are laced when you buy them" and I'm with the camp that says they have to go over the top and make smart parallel lines (as the Army taught me to do my boots - it's easier to cut them off in a hurry if they're laced like that)

But I lace my running shoes to how they fit my feet (see, that was another recent thing about "you don't know how to do X" - mentioning the other hole on running shoes)

I hate to think what could be good reasons for cutting up bootlaces in a hurry...

PH-ing myself: Impulsively interrupting peole, and hurting them with a nonsense comment while they have serious conversations with someone else. And throwing a wobbly fur having inadvertedly hurt a dear one.

Relacing shoes and boots once I've got them home is something I find relaxing. Probably because it's a repetitive mechanical activity.

Sho would probably have a fit at how I lace my boots, but the method I use is both comfortable and efficient, and the most dangerous thing that's likely to happen while wearing them is straying too close to the mosh pit so I'm not anticipating many broken ankles or owt.

"I hate to think what could be good reasons for cutting up bootlaces in a hurry..."

Well let's say you've been shot, and you need to treat the wound quickly. That'd be a reason.

Medical emergencies involving taking shoes off quickly - as military-lacing in boots was mentioned, presumably an example being injuries from shrapnel, landmines etc cutting through feet with potential vast blood loss...?

I must admit I relace my shoes once I've bought them too. Is it just me, or do shoelaces not last more than 6 months anymore?

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Exactly the sort of reasons I hate thinking about