Great Western Coffee Shop

Poet Sally Crabtree -  ^the pink wigged pocket Venus from Cornwall^ - who has enthralled audiences this year , including those at Venice Biennale , has been appointed the first official ^Poet on the Platform^ by First Great Western (link below.)
http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/NewsItem.aspx?id=533

Between August 14-17 she will undertake a tour of two performances a day at two stations a day , serenading customers at Reading , Oxford , Bath Spa , Bristol Temple Meads , Exeter St Davids , Barnstaple , Paignton and Plymouth.

Sally will set up her ^Poetree^ on the station platforms : a copper tree decorated with many objects , inviting any passengers who wish to do so to choose one , which will be the source of inspiration for a poem or song which she will serenade them with. Mock train tickets inscribed with poems will also be given away to rail passengers and station staff. 

We cant run a railway to save our lives, but hey we have got poets on the platform for you to listen to while waiting for your late train or alternate road transport. What a load of tripe.

I couldn't agree more. I do wish First would concentrate on what they are meant to be doing and that's running trains. The amount of press releases that appear on their website that have almost nothing to do with running a railways is not funny.

Each to their own .... I don't understand poetry, so this really isn't my thing, but there's nothing wrong with platform entertainment. Indeed, customer care should be very much to the forefront.  Now - if Ms Crabtree was a train driver too, and First had to cancel a service in order for her to be able to perform, I would have a very different view of the matter!

I dont have a problem with providing entertainment at our stations, I just feel that there are more pressing things, such as recruiting more staff, for FGW to concentrate on and be seen to be concentrating on which is more likely to please people who have to travel by train everyday. Even poetry won't calm tempers very much when their train has been cancelled to due lack of train crew.

Rail bosses believe that the poetry tour will inspire passengers' creativity (link below.)
http://www.rmtbristol.org.uk/2007/08/just_what_britains_longestsuff.html#more

Commuter groups have described the idea as "completely ridiculous".

Susan Westlake of Ox Rail Action, said: "It made me laugh when I heard about this. If trains are delayed when this poet is performing, I don't think passengers will be too impressed."

Elaine Wilde , of First Great Western , said: "This is an exciting project which we think is fun and inspiring."

This totally barnpot idea is also reported in today's Daily Mail. Brunel's railway has now become a laughing stock thanks to FGW. Why oh why do they come up with such ideas that make them so open to ridicule?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=475071&in_page_id=1770&ito=1595

It certainly inspired mine!

First Great Western
Are again running late.
Making me wait,
I really do hate.
There's nothing we can do
Except grumble and complain.
Whoever dared quote:
"Let the train take the strain"?
So on our heads the rain does teem
I see "CANCELLED" all over the screen.
Many minutes later the train wobbles in
Packed full of people, full to the brim!
Squashed to the walls,
I say "Soon ends my sorrow,"
"Not quite", a man calls,
"You'll be doing it again tomorrow!"

MTLS give their view in the link below.
http://www.thisisbath.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=163490&command=displayContent&sourceNode=163316&contentPK=18114090&folderPk=89126&pNodeId=163047

And here is the view from Cornwall (link below.)
http://thisiscornwall.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=144125&command=displayContent&sourceNode=232510&home=yes&more_nodeId1=232470&contentPK=18115786

You would appear to have a poetic rival , Graz (link below.)
http://www.railchat.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=11754&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=15#p184793

We even get a plug as well (link below.)
http://www.railchat.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=11754&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

Saw the pink wigged poet on BBC Points West this evening performing at Bath Spa today and felt a little guilty for calling it a barnpot idea when the story said that it was actually Sally Crabtree's idea to do this on the regions platforms this week. I guess she wasn't aware or didnt care about the negative feelings towards FGW and their franchise of late had opened up the idea of performing poetry and singing songs to passengers to such ridicule in the press.

Unsurprisingly Bath commuters are not impressed by this latest bit of PR:

http://www.thisisbath.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=180730&command=displayContent&sourceNode=227209&contentPK=18114090&folderPk=106757&pNodeId=227220

There was a photo of this rather 'strange' looking women next to an awful refurbished HST with an old power car at Penzance. Thought they would pose her in front of one of the 'environmentally freindy' powercars!