For a good 3 years I lived out of a suitcase in a number of hotels and a flat in and around the Victoria area of London and a thoroughly interesting and mostly enjoyable time it was. I may well be looking back at it with the infamous rose tinted glasses or the comfy huggableness of reminiscence but that's how I remember it now. At the time, week in week out in an Hotel wasn't doing my westcountry social life any good at all, but the glitz and glamour of the city made up for it for a little while at least.
In the end it had run it's course and my affair with the bright lights and streets paved with gold petered out with the realisation that bright lights made for a big electricity bill and there was a lot of scrapping over 'some' gold. I'll always be a country boy in my heart no matter where I am in the universe.
The world turns in a mysterious way (much like the way the lord moves if you believe that kind of thing) and so to be returning to 'the smoke' is an exciting thought not least to see how much (or how little) it's changed. Given the current circumstances I find myself in at Starfleet I'm surprised I'm travelling anywhere at all - straddled between two roles and uncertain of any sort of stable future. They have a lot to answer to - but that is for another day.
For now I'm enjoying (I never used to) the train journey, it being a relaxing romp, watching the dawn light drizzling over the western countryside. The reflections of the passengers in the windows slowly fading in the increasing daylight as if becoming invisible before disappearing altogether into the crowded streets of our destination. (I knew he could write if he felt like it -Ed)
It turns out there's a gentleman sat next to me who is off to a meeting of the European Commission to discuss the future of energy production. A fascinating subject on which I am now fully versed and ready to attend in his place should he suddenly drop dead. I've not spoken to him but he insists on spreading all his 'printed' (Oh for heavens sake!) emails all over the table and thus under my and everyone else's noses. I don't want to know, but now I do. This is one thing that's definitely not changed in the last 10 years. Still, I've got his email address now (and the rest of the committee members), perhaps I'll drop them a link to uswitch.com - bound to be of some use to them if they're find the costs a little high in this age of austerity.
Something that has changed is the addition of an 'Entertainment' carriage. I've heard of 'Quiet' carriages but an entertainment carriage sounds like all sorts of fun. Sadly it doesn't contain jugglers, fire breathers, sword swallowers or even buskers - but it does have a telly on the back of the seat in front of you. Presumably the train operators heard the complaints regarding peoples mobile phones, iPods and portable video games and the like and so after installing a space to be free of them, figured they should also have a space to be full of such cacophony for the travellers that left their gizmos at home (or given the ticket prices, cant afford them more likely).
Those unfortunates are now given yet another retail opportunity where they can pay for this telly to spew all sorts of annoying noise at them for about 3 quid. This begs the question what will they come up with next? I'm fully expecting a 10pin bowling coach and a Tesco's coach coming to a train near me soon! "The train at platform 3 contains a meat, bread and washing powder aisle, the pet food and fresh vegetables are at platform 4"
Here comes Paddington. Time for me to explore Boris' London and compare it to Ken's.
Have a great day!
This post originally appeared here: Posterous
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