Not much to say about the last few nights apart from Friday where the WER Super and I were entertained by a couple having a blazing row that continued along the entire length of the platform. Half way along they stopped for a moment so she could aim a few kicks at him before heading off into the night with her loudly declaring how much she hated him and him announcing that he didn't care to any residents of the London Borough of Hillingdon within earshot.

It looks as if the RMT strike due start on Sunday night will go ahead. At ACAS on Wednesday RMT demanded that LUL promise to reinstate Thomas if the tribunal found in his favour but LUL refused to discuss the matter until the tribunal had delivered it’s verdict. By all accounts the meeting lasted two hours before RMT walked out accusing LUL of intransigence while LUL expressed it’s amazement that RMT had quit the discussions.

The next day Mike Brown announced in a memo that he had sent letter to Bob Crow assuring him that if the tribunal directed LUL to reinstate Thomas they would abide by the decision which begs the question why didn’t he say that at ACAS the previous day.

As with ASLEF’s strike on Boxing Day LUL seem incapable of any compromise when the opportunity presents itself and in most cases they make the offer when it's too late. Perhaps they've developed their negotiation style by watching action movies where the hero arrives to save the day just in the nick of time and deliver a snappy one-liner just before the credits roll.

Obviously it’s the Unions’ fault for not reading the script.

Browsing some RMT propaganda on the disputes someone at Unity House has totted up the cost of legal teams, time spent by managers away from their normal duties, the two men’s wages for the time they have been off the trains plus everything else LUL has spent and come up with an estimated £250,000 of taxpayer’s money that has been wasted on this farce.

Fills you with confidence, don't it.