bah chocolate raisins....I don't like humbugs
Current Music = Mustang Sally by Andrew Strong from The Commitments Album
Am off to work in Hoddesdon for a couple of days. I arrived back from Lichfield last night amid stories of incredible snowfalls etc. When I got home there was very little snow, which led to various arguments on Facebook about home much snow there actually WAS up in Royton. By all accounts it was 20 feet deep with people needing snowshoes and skis.
Anyway, I got in to a freezing cold house, and to a washing machine that had failed to dry my shirts properly, so I switched on the gas fire and dried them overnight in front of that. Needless to say, getting up at 5.30 to iron them wasn’t one of this mornings more pleasant tasks.
Current Music = Try a Little tenderness by Andrew Strong off The Commitments
Apparently the American car industry needs a total bail out to the tune of 28bn dollars, now, forgive me for asking, but why wasn’t this spotted earlier? I mean, when I need money around the end of the month I can generally tell somewhere around week 2. How come they have gone to congress with only a months money left? How come they haven’t been there all year asking for a bit at a time, telling the government what a state the industry is in, and how they won’t survive? Forget the idea that a free economy should bail out a private organisation, that every other business in the world (apart from banks obviously) has to stand on it’s own 2 feet. And that people should stand and fall by their decisions. Why are these people still in a job? Why haven’t they been flirted off as the start of a very long line?
Hmmmm. Don’t get me started. I not had a rant in ages!
Current Music = Firesuite by The Doves
The train is getting busier. Interestingly enough, even though I am sat at a seat that says “available” over the top of it, some bloke has just come up and tied to claim it as his reserved seat because he should have been on the 8.15 rather than the 8.45. Needless to say he received short shift. While I have every sympathy with the fact that his train was cancelled, he would have to be very lucky to get his original seat on a train that left 30 minutes after the one he was supposed to be on.
Train seat reservations are a bunh of shit anyay. I tied to book a seat for the 8.45 last night when I bought my ticket, only to be told that they were all reserved? So, how come when I arrived on the train at 8.16 this morning there were a fair few seats that were not reserved and were marked as available. It’s a sham. As well as that, people who travel on the train on a regular basis (i.e pass holders, ) are not allowed to book a regular seat, so the regular users, are usually the ones who are most inconvenienced even thought they contribute most to the system.
Current Song = Catch the Sun by The Doves
We are now out on the Cheshire Plain, and I admit there is a little snow. You can still see the grass underneath, so it’s not exactly blizzards and making well for the winter, it’s just a slight snowfall? In Sweden it would be considered nothing more than the first snow of the winter?
That didn’t stop people going sledding yesterday however. Silly sods. One day they will learn that keeping warm in the house is usually much better for you. Rather than sliding on your arse down some hillside where you are probably gonna get trapped in the barbed wire hidden in the ditch at the bottom?
With it now being December, official mention of this years festivities can now be mentioned. Last Friday was the Lichfield Christmas party, where everyone seemed to have a good time, and a week on Friday CAD are ll going out on the beer, and on the 20th is the Finance Christmas party. Apparently at some Italian in Royton. No doubt someone will give me better directions nearer the time. All in all lots of beer, and Christmassy type food.
Current Tune = Roll with It by Oasis.
Apparently, today The Queen will inform the British People of her governments plans for the following year. Should be an interesting one. Given the fact that the economy is fucked, that the government are now trying to instill themselves upon the nation as some sort of Dictatorship, and that manufacturing and business is probably at it’s lowest ebb in the last 30 years. Even the local camping shop are having a sale. Cheap tents! Because (wait for it!) “Now is the Winter of our Discount Tent”
Current Music = Henrietta by The Fratellis
It’s now 9.40. We have been travelling an hour and should be going through Stafford fairly soon. We won’t be stopping as we now only have to stop at Milton Keynes and Watford junction. I bought my ticket last night when I got back to Piccadilly. The price difference was amazing. If I had caught the 8.15, my return to Enfield would have costs £242.00, wheras waiting 30 mins meant that my ticket ended up costing £62.00. Now, given the fact that the 8.15 was cancelled, I think I got the better deal. I assume that anyone who HAD paid £242.00 would be allowed to claim back the difference, I would bloody hope so.
Current Tune = My Friend John by The Fratellis.
We are about to hit Rugeley Trent Valley. You can tell because the big powerstation gives it away. It’s massive and you can see it for miles. It will be quite funny shooting through Lichfield at 125 mph. All the snow had now buggered off, and it’s just cold. Mind you, given the temp they run the carriages at on Virgin, it’s a wonder we don’t all die of heat exhaustion. I’m sure it’s a ploy to make people buy more drinks. I rarely buy anything from the buffet car as there is a sainsburys at the station which is much cheaper. I bought a baguette and a 1.25 litre bottle of diet coke this morning and it cost £2.87. If I had bought something similar on the train it would have cost £3.10 for a sandwich and another £1.20 for a small bottle of coke. So £4.30 instead of £2.87. And I thought that Dick Turpin was dead.
Current Music = Boom Boom by The Yardbirds.
We are just passing through Atherstone. Nothing much special about that, except that Atherstone used to be the centre of felt hat making in the UK . Ladies hats were made in Luton, Christies mad gents hats in Stockport, but felt hats were made in Atherstone. Dunno why? Maybe there were a large number of rabbits?
Felt was made by mashing up rabbit skin, chopping it up, washing it, and re-forming it into felt. There was melusine and there was peach bloom, both of which were fur felts. When I used to own the hat wholesalers I wouldn’t buy it as I object strongly to fur and would only buy felt hats that were made from wool.
Before I owned the company we used to sell mink hats, and, not only did I object to them on moral grounds, I also couldn’t actually touch them as I used to get a funny reaction whenever I touched them. Soon as I took over the company real fur was banned. You can get such good fake fur from Belgium that there is no need for it. The synthetic fake fur hats and scarves that I used to buy from Ooudenaarde were stunning. You could place them next to real fur and it would take a real expect to be able to notice the difference. Hmm, how the hell did we get onto hats. I work in food..lol
Current music = You only live Once by The Strokes
I fell asleep for a few mins. The sun shining through the window made me close my eyes. Funny, seeing as how I’m not feeling tired.
Current Music = Daybreak by The Stone Roses.
On the 19th of December I will be off work. Myself and Anita are going out drinking. The Friday before Christmas is the traditional meeting of all the buskers in the Town hall tavern for their pre-christmas drink. They sit around, drink, play music and all in all it’s good fun. It is also the anniversary of my Mums funeral 2 years ago. I went to the pub and got totally and utterly arseholed on port. Anita found me at about 5.30 playing a drum with the buskers, smashed out of my brains, and buying rounds of 40 tequilas for “the Guys” She managed to sort me out, put me in a cab and I went home and was comatose for a day or so. Anyway, given what has happened in her life in the last couple of months, the 2 of us are going back there, meeting the buskers and drink. Good job I’m not in work the following day. Can spend Saturday recovering before the works Christmas do on Saturday night. I have a feeling that is gonna be ONE boozy weekend.
Current Music = Peaches by The Stranglers
Cut to Thursday night. After working down in Lunnon for a couple of days I started to head back home. On the way to the depot I had travelled via Euston, then the tube to Finsbury Park, then the train to Enfield Chase and then a cab to the depot. However, as it turns out, the depot is just around the corner from Rye House, where I could catch a train to Tottenham Hale, and then the tube to Euston. I then had a 30 minute wait until the 18.35, which was the first off-peak service out of Euston. Needless to say, everyone and their mother tried to get on the same train, leading to severe overcrowding and about 20 people per carriage standing. After a few mutterings about health & safety the train manager decided to open up first class to all of us minions, so I am currently ensconced in a first class seat. Needless to say, another 10 minutes of it and I would probably have walked into 1st class anyway and sat down. In fact, that’s exactly what the chap sat opposite me already did. He saw how many people there were on the train and just said “screw it”
Current Music = Welcome to the Jungle by Guns N Roses
Well, it’s 19.24 and we are well on our way. Hopefully I should be home by 10.00, so I will get a chance to grab some food before I head off to bed. Up tomorrow and not sure if I am heading off to Lichfield or if I will head into Royton. Will decide tomorrow after seeing what sort of shape I am in. I can do what I need to do at Royton just as easily.
Current Music = Sweet Child O Mine by Guns n Roses.
Yes, I can’t be arsed getting out the portable hard disc from up on the shelf in the laptop bag, and the only album I can find on the laptop is either Guns n Roses or the new Nickelback album. As I am more a GNR fan that’s what I have to listen to as I head back home.
There was an article in a newspaper today about a thing called “The Game”. Apparently everyone in the world is playing, and you are out if you thing about “the Game”, but you are back in as soon as you stop. This thing has caused riots in schools in America where people have been marking up banknotes with reminders of the Game, posting things on walls, spray painting stuff, etc etc. It all seems remarkably stupid. Then again, what do I know? I nearly sounded like my parents then , what with your modern music and new fangled ideas, what’s the world coming to? I think I finally know the answer…..meltdown.
Current tune = Paradise City by…Guns N …ok, so you already know!!!
I stayed at the Lodge last night. It seems to be some sort of back garden lodgings built by some lady who had a big house, but it’s fine. A bedroom, a bathroom and a fridge loaded with milk, orange juice, bread, pain aux choc, croissant, jam, cheese etc. Not bad, I have stayed in places that are much worse. In fact, I have stayed in places that are a LOT worse.lol
Current Tune = Knocking on Heavens Door by…yeah yeah I know!
Well, we have just passed Rugeley powerstation, so should be home in about an hour and 20 minutes. So it should be about 9.45 rather than 10.00, but it will probably be after 12 by the time I get to sleep. Oh well, I can usually get by on 4 or 5 hours sleep, so 6 will be a bit of a treat. Then again, I will probably just end up waking up at the normal time. For some reason I just can’t take the extra hour.
Anyway, am jacking this in now before I end up carrying on to book
