and they want us to use public transport

i was just advised it would be £240 for a return ticket to manchester from london. Crazy

The Madness of the Rush

I was on the latest train I could be this to get to work on time without offending management however a broken down train at Marks Tey had caused serious delays and our train was delayed by forty minutes. Not ideal and so not to offend my colleagues I got on the tube rather than taking my usual leisurely 24 minute stroll.... in doing so tho I wouldn't say I rushed as this can go terribly wrong....

The other night I hit Liverpool Street at 6:45pm. Movements weren't abnormal but I noticed a women on the floor, slowly rising, her face was covered in blood. Some PCSO's and a member of the public were giving her tissue to wipe her face but she was clearly in distress. I stopped for a few moments and had heroic visions of ripping off my (incredibly sweaty) 100% cotton Debenhams shirt but a las I spared Liverpool Street the sight and realised my help wasn't needed and made my way to the train.

I wasn't quite sure what had happened but the assumption was the lady had fallen through rushing to get a train whilst wearing slightly inappropriate _extreme_ high heel shoes. Obviously I could be wrong but it was a credible guess. This single event remained in my mind for the entirety of my journey and when I arrived in Colchester the sensation of the rush continued as there was a tense stand off between me and someone else wanting to be the first to get off the train.

I'm beginning to question all of this rushing.....for we live in a world where many tasks can be undertaken remotely why do we force ourselves to compete in the rush. Another rush is the rush to get to the front of the shop queue. Such terrible atmospheres are created by the frustrated 'huff and puffer'......

Its not just getting to work where you experience the rush tho, there is now a horrid culture of rush with email communications:

"high priority"
"please advise asap"
"when will this be ready"
"I need this done today"

All credible questions but do we really need to rush...the stone masons who built lincoln cathedral probably didnt

'are you alright?'

not the words i expected to hear at 8 30am in bethnal green,london from a stranger. I knew where i was,where i was going and i was indeed alright but this young lady clearly thought i looked like someone in need. As it happened i was reading about the history of the green but so kind was her enquiry i asked for directions to the childrens museum.

A Week off and no train pain

So I had hoped for a trip to Devon for the Salcombe fireworks but my friend's car had an unexpected appointment with the garage so plans changed however the consistently great thing about my week off from London PAYE employment was that I didn't step onto a train once.

It was a week of gardening, politics, Lincoln, Dentist, ale some more ale, white wine, new chickens (although I had no idea chickens would be racist), the midlands to see an old school chum and have a curry, boot sale action and lots of riding around on my scooter.

Nipping around on the scooter is bliss, there's a real sense of connection with the earth because at every moment you are inches away from it with your skin as protection....

Now then as I wind down and prepare for the gauntlet that is London and the trains for next week I've stumbled across some intel......In Europe there are some 3480 miles of high speed train track (Will Hutton, The Observer) with another 2160 in the pipeline - this track enables trains to travel at 150mph + - so what of Britain's high speed track you ask, well its a pathetic 68 miles (from St Pancras to the Channel Tunnel). What a joke.

east anglian strike

currently sat on a national express train to lincoln. Despite the distance ill be there in just under 2 hours-impressive. Liverpool street was very empty this morning,unlike my train when it hit chelmsford. Ouch it was a sweat fest, and the heat and sunglasses combo sent me to sleep at the expense of the lady sitting next to me. I did apologise for my sweating head hitting her shoulder-still wasnt the ideal ice breaker. The strike is undoubtedly disruptive and their union isnt communicating its messages clearly. I have no doubt that the conditions the staff work in our dire,ive seen for myself on several occassions the abuse they have to endure from ticket dodgers however is national express the devil or is it rail track or is it the government. What is for certain is that average train driver salaries arent that bad and in these leaner times its not exactly a career hugely at risk? Ofcourse the other thing which is clear is that the country's entire network needs sorting out with faster more reliable trains.