Train times

Going to bed now, as I got in after 10 because someone jumped in front of my train (or, in the words of the guard in his announcements ever 20 minutes, there was 'quite a serious incident').

Euphemisms only work when you don't have men in high-vis jackets running up and down the train telling the passengers exactly what is going on outside. (One of the men was basically Morpheus from the matrix, down to the sunglasses and coat. Amidst the engineers, paramedics, transport police and suchlike, I wonder who sent him...)

Stiff upper lips were to the fore, despite being stuck for almost two hours with half the lights off and no air conditioning because they had to put the train on emergency battery power.

The guard also came round with bottles of water for people who needed it to swallow their medication (it seems there were a lot of them on board), advising us to allow 'women and children' to take it first. I think he'd seen too many disaster movies or something.

Everyone was on phones half the time, and chatting for the rest of it. One woman phoned her child's friend's mother to tell her she was taking them out for dinner, and the rest of the train conspired to shout out  during the call to expose her as a liar.

Another man had to explain to his three-year-old daughter that he couldn't tell her a 'teddy story' over the phone because everyone was listening, which just made the man opposite him demand stories for the duration.

In short, it was survivable. Everyone was very mature, right up until I made it back to Woking (via Surbiton, where our train was 'terminated'), where all the worried spouses etc who'd driven to the station to pick people up had formed an enormous, hooting traffic jam. Maybe being stuck in a packed train for a while would have made them more polite...

Thus concludes the story of the train. Yes, it is awful that someone died and other people had to clean them off the front of a train, but it's not the first time this has happened (it's not even the first time this has happened on one of my journeys, as I'm sure most commuters can claim) and there was not much anyone could do for them.

Going to bed now.

Pit pat waddle pat

I had another very busy day today, and once again it is all the Royal Wedding's fault! I'm in charge of proofing a huge timeline of all the royal weddings since 1795, and the events that happened in the same years as them, and it's a bit of a nightmare (especially as it's on top of everything I normally have to get through!). Hard work is supposed to be good for you, I know, but I'm secretly hoping for a revolution complete with guillotine so I don't have to do it any more!

I'm getting quite excited about going home next weekend. I'm working a full week this week so I can fly up next Thursday. I intend to eat lots of chips with Edinburgh sauce (which you don't find anywhere else - I'm told it's made by mixing brown sauce, ketchup, vinegar and suchlike, but you'll have to trust me when I say it's amazing!), climb lots of hills and do lots of Scottish things! It's a bit strange to think I haven't been back since I left in September, and even more strange to know I'm going back to a completely different house, as my parents have since moved. They've promised to leave me some boxes to unpack, though!

It rained again today, which made me want to wear wellies, as I haven't since I was quite tiny (my father is the outdoorsy type, so we had much more sophisticated waterproof footwear). There's something about the idea of a nice thick pair of socks and a pair of wellies that really appeals to me. Sadly, I don't think they constitute appropriate workwear, so I may have to wait for a rainy weekend.

I wish my wellies were as cool as these:

Bedtime now, as I still haven't been able to shake the tiredness. Not good - I yawned so loudly on the train this morning that the man sitting opposite me leaned back in shock.

Goodnight!

Odds on

Another quick one, as I'm inexplicably still tired, despite having gone to bed as early as 11 last night!

Today I was asked to write my first obituary. It wasn't a huge undertaking, as it was just a 600-word one, using other obits for reference (thankfully I didn't have to phone up any grieving widows or anything), but it was still pretty exciting! It's probably going to be in Thursday's paper, so look out for it! (It's of Harry Coover, who accidentally invented superglue (twice!))

Is anyone else completely confused by betting odds? We occasionally do a little bit about weird odds being offered on things for the DUR (like whether Charlie Sheen will go to rehab, get arrested or win an Oscar), and I have to admit it's the part of my job I'm absolutely worst at. I can't understand them at all! I was (sort of) getting my head around all this 3-1 business, and now it turns out they can be listed as decimal points too! Who decides these things, anyway? Bewildering.

Have to go to bed now, before I turn into a pumpkin.

Goodnight!

Exhausted, mildly republican ramblings

I was kept awake by a cat or several squirrels on the roof last night and have spent most of this evening booking my trip to Edinburgh to see my wonderful family next weekend (very exciting), so I am afraid I am not only exhausted, I am in a rush to get things done and go to bed. Therefore, not much blogging!

I had a good day at work today. I have mixed feelings on this daylight saving lark, however. While it was lovely to leave work to find actual sunshine outside, I can't help but remember my first conscious thought this morning being 'When the alarm says 7, in real time it is actually 6', which I can tell you is not a pleasant first conscious thought.

I managed to get lots done today, though. Apart from steaming through the page despite it just being me and Olivia in today, I also managed to make a start on my new pet project for the page (although I can't take credit for the idea - more anon) and help various other people with their projects. This Royal Wedding is far more trouble than it's worth. It's also got the letter nutters all riled up. One of today's highlights had a picture of Diana (cut out from a magazine or commemorative book or something) stuck to it, and a long, frequently-capslocked rant about the 'masculine pig' (which I infer was a reference to Camilla) trying to interfere with 'the lovely new princess'.

A while ago the Telegraph had a feature (possibly in its magazine) about how Young People Today actually do care about the wedding and are just as excited as older generations, just in a more tweet-y way. Without wanting to cast aspersions on the Young People trotted out to coo over dresses and cake (all of whom were white and female, I should add), I have to say that I have yet to meet anyone, of any generation, who is anything other than slightly chagrined at the prospect. Maybe I spend too much time around cynical journalists, though...

I didn't mean to go on, and now I really must go to bed!

Goodnight!

Another day on the health farm

Tonight, I bring you the awesomeness that is French bread pizza:

One of your five a day (of pizza)

This is really easy to make, as I'm sure you can tell. Make a tomato sauce, put bread under the grill to pre-toast on both sides, spread on sauce, sprinkle with mozzarella, grill until melty and delicious! Simples.

It was gorgeously sunny again today, and it looks set to stay warm all week! Only a couple of months until I won't need to wear a coat!

Did everybody enjoy the clocks going forward? I was a bit confused by it. Turns out my computer is smarter than my phone (as is the central heating).

I've just got off the computer to my parents (I can't really say the phone, as we skype), and have been told in no uncertain terms to go to bed. You can't argue with maternal wisdom, so I'll have to say goodnight.

Goodnight!

Spring has sprung!

I'd like to start with some pictures of Spring, happening:

It was a little overcast today, but strangely that just made me enjoy all the blossoms and flowers even more. I'm weird, I know.

My main news today is that I have made a discovery. My quest for new work-appropriate clothes has failed for a reason: Woking has no M&S (at least, not that I've been able to find, apart from the tiny expensive food shop next to the station). I've seen lots of nice clothes that I wouldn't mind wearing in my search, but this Spring's chief look is apparently Casual, with a sideline in American Highschool Stereotypes (I don't think I've ever seen so many baseball jackets), neither of which is at all helpful to me. Then I wondered what that good old institution M&S had in stock, and had a quick look on their website. Suddenly, I found all the sensible blouses I had been angling for! I'm seriously tempted by this, this, this, this (although have a look at the colour choice - that's a funny sort of white!), this and this (I like the Star Trek-chic shoulders). Note that for quite a few of them, 'Plain' is a listed feature. Perfect! I could wear them all to death, maybe even tucked into sensible trousers (if I found some sensible trousers), and never have to think too hard about getting dressed again. I bet they're all machine-washable and non-iron too! 

I also rather like the look of this, lest you fear M&S has brokered some dark deal for my soul. I just want to stop feeling so bored with my wardrobe!

That's it from me for today. Tomorrow I will be weighing up saving my money and a trip to M&S in London.

Goodnight!

Favourite lyric of the week: Our love is like the border between Greece and Albania.

The time is out of joint

I may have said I'd post this yesterday, but anyway...

Last night (on Thursday night, if you want to split hairs) Lady Zorro and I went to see a play in Hackney. This was an exciting experience on two counts: I had never been to Hackney before, and the play was excellent.

Sadly, in all the excitement, I only remembered to take two pictures. We were a bit rushed, as we had both come from work and met up at about 6:50, and the play started at 7.30.

Here is the ceiling of the restaurant place next to the theatre, which had a sort-of-box office which turned out not to be the one we needed after all, but had loads of awesome lampshades:

And here is supper, in a sort of fried chicken shop. It was reasonably cheap, and I had peri peri chicken on a bed of chips, which I could never fault: 

We ended up staying talking over our meal for a bit longer than intended, and made it into the theatre with minutes to spare before the curtain went up (well, it was already up, but you know what I mean). 

The play we went to see was Hamlet The Clown Prince, at the Hackney Empire. I had already put it in the paper, but it was really, really funny and well-done, so I will promote it some more here! Go and see it if you can, tickets are not that expensive and it is excellent. The play had come over from India, where it apparently won all sorts of awards. It was about a company of clowns trying to put on Hamlet, with only five actors and a lot of squabbling. I've never laughed so hard at Shakespeare before. Lady Zorro was also impressed, and she is a lady of culture, so it must be good! 

The only downside was the audience. A couple in the row in front of us had brought their baby along, possibly in the mistaken belief that something with clowns must be for children, and it got very confused and upset and had to be taken out halfway through. The seats were the kind that fold up, so the entire row in front of us had to stand up in the middle of the play to let these people and their screaming child out. Thankfully, they didn't come back. The woman behind us must have been from an American television audience, because she had a somewhat disconcerting tendency to shriek with laughter whenever anything at all happened on stage, to the point where she was actually panting for breath. Also, the man sitting next to me apparently only knew one line from the entire of Hamlet - 'Get thee to a nunnery' - which he would repeat in knowing tones whenever nunneries were mentioned.  

Audience aside, though, it was really awesome! It was exciting sneaking off to do something fun after work. I should take advantage of working in London more often! Yes, the 'pubs' are insanely expensive and travel can be complicated, but there is always loads on.

I don't have much exciting news on today, except that I made an apple crumble this evening, and have the rest of it to look forward to tomorrow. What a glamourous life I lead!

Goodnight!