Hello there
My name is Johnathan Randall, because I was told never to introduce myself with a nickname.
I am a travel historian. I study and write about how our need to get around continues to shape our world through roads, railways, airports and whole new towns. I love the non-places we pass through along a journey and the effort that goes into catering for people who just want to get a move on.
I am much happier speaking and writing about these things than I was when I was working in the offices of several transport organisations. I will occasionally share what I learned during those times. More generally, my travel thoughts and/or research have been used by the likes of Truck & Driver, BBC local radio, Daily Express, The Guardian, The Independent, Mail Online and Daily Mirror (detail). I am a radio producer experienced with entertainment and talk shows.
While I do occasionally share some of this work on here, it's best to contact me for the full details.
The rest of this page is a much more generic blog, covering my love for media, travel, amusing signs, post codes and lists. It is largely irreverent and mostly outdated.
There are billions of websites on the internet. Thank you for clicking on my one.
Boris Johnson should be the Queen of England
The opinion polls make it clear: there are two things that England is infatuated with. The Royal Family, and Boris Johnson.
It is pretty clear from the conversation recently that the Royal Family, despite the support of the English masses, is stuck in an outdated rut.
Abolishing the Royal Family - as well as inciting the ire of every right wing pundit in the land - would raise concerns about the power and status that would be handed to politicians if they didn't have The Queen watching over them.
But what if the new republican leader was a purely ceremonial position? Somebody who carries out publicity stunts at crowded events but never actually holds any responsibility?
That would be the perfect role for Boris Johnson, a man who treats his existing responsibilities as a leader in exactly that way.
Mr. Johnson would be in his element being needed only for photoshoots, where the crowds gather to applaud his clown show act and rehearsed fumbling.
By promoting the Gunnersaurus from politician to dressage, he will get to indulge in his favourite acts, like having his name written on everything.
No doubt every town would need to have its own Boris Johnson Highway. His portrait would be pasted on every letter. And he could bond with Prince Philip over their mutual love for questionable relationships and casual racism.
March 2020
The problem with Uber Eats
It has been a tough 12 months for the hospitality industry.
Caterers in every corner of the country have had to make tough decisions and evaluate how they go about their business. I wouldn't want to ridicule that.
I believe I'm right in saying that all three of the major operators have now experimented with having some-sort of relationship with Uber Eats, in addition to stand-alone stores like McDonald's and Costa also putting their motorway stores on there.
As a historian, I'm very aware that I have a natural vendetta against new-fangled food delivery services, but I accept that they fulfill a role and I have no objection in principle to motorway service areas making a bit of money on the side. You could even class it as 'supporting the community'.
I should also say that I'm not suggesting anybody is currently doing anything wrong. What I am saying is that, if the relationship between motorways and Uber Eats is going to grow closer, then I have some concerns.
Many motorway service areas have a secret connection to the local road network. Many of those require special training to be able to use them safely: they are often hidden and difficult to find; they are often littered with potholes and debris; they almost never have street lighting; and they usually have blind bends that unauthorised locals take way too fast.
March 2020
What will happen next at Solihull?
Recently I sat through the entire sitting of Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, so that you wouldn't have to.
I made the sacrifice because I knew councillors would be using the meeting to discuss and decide on the two new motorway service areas which had been proposed for the Solihull area, one of which they had been advised to approve.
One of these, proposed by Applegreen-Welcome Break, was to be built at M42 J4 near Shirley. The other, proposed by Extra, was to be built at M42 J5A near Catherine-de-Barnes, a junction which is itself currently under construction.
There weren't many surprises. For the most part, it was a bingo scorecard of NIMBYism. Residents had to be interrupted during their long, rehearsed speeches about traffic, the green belt and letting children play.
One person pointed out - quite rightly - that if the M42 J5A option was taken, the new service area would make up 65% of the traffic at that new junction. A scary statistic. But once you think about it, a bigger number is a good thing.
The number of people who would stop at a service area is roughly a fixed number, so if you placed it at a busier junction you would get worse traffic, even if it was a smaller percentage.
March 2020
The litter extremists who want you to pick it up
I hate litter. It makes me furious whenever I see a lazy, selfish prat spread their waste around the country. I really cannot stand it.
On the face of it, I might be a prime candidate to join the UK Volunteer Litterpicking Group. It's a strange choice of hobby, but I'm very grateful that this community of people takes it upon themselves to clear up Britain's filthy countryside.
Sometimes when you live in an area you grow used to it, but the British (and Irish) countryside is filthy. Every country has its unloved industrial landscapes, but Britain seems to have made this its default styling.
Partly that's because councils have no budget to take any pride in how they maintain or decorate our built environment. Mostly though, it's because people choose not to look after it.
Volunteer Litterpickers, then. A great group who do the dirty work that I'm too lazy to help with.
Except I'm really not keen on their strategy.
February 2020
Driving in 2030
It's 3 months since the UK confirmed that the sale of petrol and diesel cars would be banned from the year 2030.
Clearly, on the first day of 2030, the UK's petrol and diesel cars aren't going to disappear into the ground. They will be a common sight for some time after.
But equally, many manufacturers are already putting all their resources into electric vehicles, so 2030 would seem to be a good date for us to look forward to.
It would be nice to look forward to a future where every single parking space came with its own electric vehicle charger, but there would be some big hurdles to overcome first: there would be the time and expense of fitting that much infrastructure, and then there's the practicality of these remote locations having enough electricity to send to the car park.
February 2020
Thousands Trapped In Twitter Bug
This is a bit too serious, and it's because I'm personally affected.
Twitter wants big businesses to be using their platform, but to thank them, Twitter is now making some users pass a verification test that is impossible.
As a result innocent users are having their accounts suspended, and when they turn to Twitter for help, all they get is an automated promise that it will get looked in to. No actual assistance, or explanation, is offered.
Here's how I found out about it: one day, I was using the Twitter app and it interrupted me to say I needed to verify my phone number. It did this for all of my business accounts.
October 2020
LONG READ: Unfinished Dublin
All over the developed world, cities went through a phase where they fell in love - and then usually fell out of love - with the motor car.
This phase was usually an exciting time of optimism and aspiration, and a time where places wanted to change their face beyond all recognition. It rarely worked out well.
Dublin has been shaped by many historic events but one that has had a big impact on the appearance of the city is its failed aspiration to embrace the motoring era.
This is the story of Dublin's three transport plans; how they could have created a very different city; and how you can still see evidence of them today.
October 2020
What can we do about parking fines?
1981. That's the earliest record I have of somebody being charged for parking for too long at a service station.
The reason that's an important date is that, fast forward to 2020, and we see more complaints from people who were charged for overstaying than about anything else that they do.
These people are often outraged, and try to call for a boycott, not realising that almost every service station in the country is doing this, and has been for 40 years. You'd need quite a boycott.
September 2020
The planning system is claiming another victim
It is really quite incredible that the debate over whether a service station should be built on Walford Hall Farm near Solihull goes back to 1969.
Strictly speaking it has only been continuously proposed since 1992, but that's still almost 30 years.
I'm thinking about this because this week it was announced that the decision on the plans has been pushed back another 18 months.
The problem is there are many reasons to argue against it. Green fields are something to treasure. this is a busy road which must be modified with care and there are arguments in favour of other locations.
There is also a big reason to argue in favour of it - it's needed. We're talking about a country with a large gap between existing facilities, and a severe shortage of HGV parking places.
As a historian, I am natrually programmed to argue against new developments. The status quo is what I find interesting. But there are places where the status quo is clearly not working, and this is one of them.
September 2020
Praise is due for MSAs and COVID-19
I appreciate it's not fashionable to be positive on the internet, and it's perhaps not something I'm used to, but I genuinely feel that praise is due for the way many transport operators have adapted to COVID-19.
That's not to undermine the challenges that customers have faced - lorry drivers in particular have, at times received an especially raw deal - but its only fair to acknowledge the amount of work that has got us to where we are.
On the motorways, all of the service area providers are used to dealing with uncertain conditions. They put up with accidents, roadworks, snow and Bank Holidays. But none of these begin to compare with the disruption and confusion felt in 2020.
August 2020
