Chocka

[poliphilo]

Kent is London’s front yard. It’s like one huge urban park. There are open areas but they’re all very tidy, and you’re never far from houses and roads.

Ailz and I talk about moving down here, but I dunno- it gives me claustrophobia.

Ian and Jenny took us for a drive this afternoon. The narrow country roads and the narrow urban streets were all of them chocka. We wound up in Reculver- a seaside caravan park with a big field that used to be a Roman fort and the ruins of a medieval church with two big towers at its west end. There was a cold mist coming in off the sea and blowing through the empty windows of the church so I took lots of photographs and thought about Dracula. 

 

On the way home we talked about road congestion. Ailz favours smart cars and Ian favours mono-rails and I like the idea of strap-on jet-packs, but one way or another we’re going to have to come up with a new philosophy or a new technology soon, or the south-east of England will simply seize up.

Comments

[halfmoon-mollie.livejournal.com]

Even though it sounds crowded and awful, I love your description. Especially the cold mist coming in off the sea.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

It would have been spooky if there hadn't been so many people abour.

[jackiejj.livejournal.com]

I took lots of photographs and thought about Dracula

So like you!

Your tours are fun to read.

[currawong.livejournal.com]

I felt a bit like that about Switzerland...all very pretty, but it irritated the shit out of me...so neat, so clipped, so....oh, I don't know...so SWISS!

Have you every been to real Dracula country....Whitby, I mean...not Transylvania?...it looks like a very pretty spot to me, if a little bleak at times.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I,ve never been to Whitby itself, though I keep meaning to. The nearest I've been is Scarborough.
I love the bleakness of the East coat.

[cybersofa.livejournal.com]

How smart would these cars be? I mean we are presumably not talking Smart(tm) Fortwo et al. Smart enough to see a jam ahead and re-route round it? This seems like quite a modest and easily achievable development of present-day sat-nav and road speed measurement technology, I can't see why it's not being done already.

Had a client once with a well-developed proposal for a monorail linking two large, congested, nearby conurbations (Southampton and Portsmouth). If such a system could succeed anywhere then that'd be the place, but the client went bust trying to get the local authorities even to look at it.

Strap-on jet-packs, now you're talking, but the hot exhaust's a bit of a worry, and no doubt the nanny state would put forward other safety-based objections. Nearest available equivalent, I think, is the powered two-wheeler. I chose that mode of transport specifically for its congestion busting properties, and it works like a charm.

[hepo.livejournal.com]

Grrrr... You've got me writing!

Here I am [at work] with tons of reports to write and you've inspired me to write about the future! Grrr... Again!

I have a soft spot for Sci Fi. Used to read them by the dozen, and so find it an interesting notion to ponder on what the future would be like.

Putting aside any alien influences and the traditional 'beam me up Scotty' method, I would say: in the densely polluted year of 2105, drivers won't have the traditional RFL; drivers will be financialy penalised for travelling in certain zones at certain times of the week; errr... make that 2005.

I think what we'll find is, purchasing a car will be relatively cheap, unfortunaly, you'll need to top up with a mortgage to run it.

HePo

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I think the days of the private car are numbered. But I haven't a clue what will replace it.