Kid Sampson

White Lion on Chesterfield Road? Agree about the Hop, could be a good atmosphere in there. Good thread idea by the way

A real shame that he has died. He has played his part in ensuring rail workers have decent T's & C's and pay, and that the railway has an excellent safety record. I for one will miss him.

I didn't know that either, thanks for the info.

Have a read of this and it will give you some idea. The lady is absolutely right to sue as it is the poor design of a modern flagship building and lack of mitigating measures put in place (despite a fatality nearly three years ago) which has, in part, contributed to her injuries. Like I said, this is not a "Woman sues God" story.

I have done a quick bit of reading on the Slaney inquest. From the BBC, it appears that some checks were done prior to building: The inquest, which has been adjourned a number of times for investigations to take place, heard a wind assessment was done as part of the planning process but it did not flag up potential problems with vehicles using surrounding roads. Once again it appears that everyone wants something to be done but nobody is actually doing anything: The council's director of development, Martin Farrington, said: "It has been an absolute priority for us ever since we first heard of the wind issues around Bridgewater Place to resolve these as safely as possible for both pedestrians and road users. "We support the view of the coroner that the building's owner needs to bring forward the wind mitigation measures that we have been pressing for for a very long time and we will continue to do so. "We will consider very carefully her recommendation to close the junction during high wind speeds." It is worth remembering that the incident was nearly three years ago.

I am not sure why people are advocating hanging here. That would, in their own and their supporters opinion, martyr them, and that is precisely what one of them said was the plan all along. Locked up in Belmarsh or Wakefield and not given the oxygen of publicity for the rest of their natural lives is actually far worse a punishment for these two.

She is right to sue. A coroner recently ruled, in the inquest of Dr Edward Slaney, that the road around Bridgewater Place in Leeds should be shut when the wind is forecast to be 45 mph of above. This is because Dr Slaney was killed by a "floating" lorry which had taken off in the high winds generated, in part, by the shape of Bridgewater Place. The offending building is shaped almost like an aeroplane tail fin and can cause unbelivabley high gusts of wind. The problem is that the road which has to be closed is the main route into the city from the M621 so this is clearly an unsustainable solution. The building is, I think, fully occupied and will cause immense disruption should it have to be torn down/reshaped. There is an interim solution being discussed, which involves large girders being erected in order to break the wind up, but how successful this will be remains to be seen. I am not sure if wind effects are be a matter for architects to consider but if they are then surely there should be some liability on the part of the designers of the building as the situation is a complete shambles. There is much more to this story than "Woman sues God."

But most of the people who think Biggs was scum are working men and women on the railway, hardly a bastion of swivel eyed loons. If the "right wingers" on here also think that he was a scumbag then I think that somewhat proves the point that, indeed, the man was a scumbag for what he and his fellow gang did that day.

I don't think anybody has criticised you for your opinion, they just disagreed with it. I, however, stand by my comment that bringing "right winger" arguments into this is idiotic and shows a total lack of understanding on your part of the issue and why people dislike Biggs and co.

I'm not sure where I talked about the sentence he received? You have no idea what my views are on that. I am, however, pretty sure Bob Crow would agree that Biggs is no hero!

Yes, I am a bit biased. So? Bob Crow is nothing to do with me, not in the RMT.

Pathetic really. Nothing wrong with posting a semi controversial thread, but when people disagree with you, to dismiss them as "right wing" is utterly ludicrous.

This article has the measure of the scumbag and what he and his fellow gang members did to the innocent train crew. http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/danhodges/100251134/forget-ronnie-biggs-the-great-train-robber-remember-the-men-whose-lives-he-ruined/ I cannot believe that the OP has managed to bring the "usual right wingers" argument into this, what a total idiot. Mel, go into any railway messrooms today and you will not find one right winger, it is probably the most left wing of the big industries left. Indeed, ASLEF, the drivers union, and presumably the one Driver Jack Mills was a member of, donates a sizable proportion of its funds to the Labour Party and continually campaigns for the renationalisation of the railway. Today, in depots up and down the country, railway men and women, myself included, will raise a mug of tea in memory of Driver Jack Mills and enjoy the day that your hero finally croaked.

Who's filling in for Bill Ward? Is it still the RATM chap?

I already answered the point about DLR, it is quoted in post 63.