test please delete

[NickFitz]

Made it!

Traffic and roadworks by the British Museum meant I didn’t get back to the hotel until 18:25. Round the block via Bedford Row, and a parked van on Theobalds Road made sure I hit the red light at the Red Lion Street junction. Past the hotel again at about twenty-eight minutes past, and round to Bedford Row again. Another wait at the lights courtesy of a taxi doing a u-turn just before them, and I pulled into the space roughly ten seconds after the parking restrictions ended

This means I have to leave before 8:30 tomorrow, but I’m hoping to get away earlier than that - this time last year, I left at quarter to and it cut about thirty minutes off the journey

Though I then lost those thirty minutes as I went straight into town to collect the new MacBook Air, so it’s that anniversary too.

[DoctorStrangelove]

Now if I can only encourage the two Esteemed Customers in the lab to feck off, then I'll be on my way at 16:00.

And off they fecked after asking if the lab is open tomorrow.

Well it might be, but I'm not the one opening it.


Caught the rather more luxurious T6 on the way home.

Did a bit of shopping in M&S and Morrisons.

Tea was the usual M&S chunky breaded haddock, followed by the last of the stewed red gooseberries with custard.

It was all pretty good.

The ongoing lurgy is doing its level best to feck me up.

The assembled congregation may dimly recall a mention 3 or 4 weeks ago that i observed a plod standing on the canal bridge by the side of the A465, which I found a bit odd.

Turns out they found a body there.

He'd been missing since January so I don't suppose they'll figure out what offed him at this late date.

It's been chilly enough for the past couple of days to require the heating, which I'm pleased to find still works.

My plumber hasn't been to service it this year which is a bit worrying.

Maybe he's retired.

If so I suppose I'll get BG to do it instead.

[NickFitz]

Too lazy to go out for dinner; also, the amount of walking around I’ve done seems to be causing a blister on the bottom of my foot. So I resorted to the hotel restaurant.

Slightly busier than on any of my previous visits, of which I think there have been three, on two of which I was the only customer when I arrived and, in one case, also when I left. But those were a bit earlier and later than today’s seven o’clock visit; around six and nine I think.

Coincidentally, “around six” is the number of occupied tables when I arrived there this evening

I had steak and chips (there were some bits of vegetable and fungal matter on the plate too, which I ignored) followed by a chocolate brownie with ice cream and salted caramel sauce

Nothing wrong with any of it, though you could get the same things from M&S’s standard range and they’d all be slightly better.

[NickFitz]

My watch is under the impression that I walked nearly five miles yesterday, and over six-and-a-half today

Even if it’s being over optimistic, it all suggests that I’d be a lot fitter if I lived in central London

[DoctorStrangelove]

TFBSZ.

Tonight's viewing during the endless laundering was the thing on BBC2 about Sheffield and steel, followed by the chap on 5 wandering along the Beechinged railway to Barmouth.

I was reading only this morning of a proposal to reopen the Carmarthen to Aberystwyth railway.

It would cost a very reasonable £750M, so that's not going to happen.

[NickFitz]

Goodnight all

[NickFitz]

Morning denizens

Pretty clear out, but a bit chilly

Breakfast eaten, so off to the M1 now

[DoctorStrangelove]

Dry.

Cold. It's 14 deg in here and it's 3.9 deg in the laundry room.

Lots of condensation on the windows.

Winter drawers on.

Oh, and

[NickFitz]

Home!

Back by five to ten, for a journey time of around one hour fifty-five minutes

I would have been back sooner, but whoever was supposed to be on the front desk of the hotel when I went to check out had done a runner, so there was a gradually extending queue of punters waiting. Finally a woman who seemed to be some kind of manager came in, clearly arriving for her shift but not due to start yet, who went behind the counter and, after a couple of annoyed calls over the radio which went unanswered, dealt with us all herself, still with her outside coat on (complete with TfL "Baby on board" badge). So that delayed my departure by nearly ten minutes

[DoctorStrangelove]

Home!

Back by five to ten, for a journey time of around one hour fifty-five minutes

I would have been back sooner, but whoever was supposed to be on the front desk of the hotel when I went to check out had done a runner, so there was a gradually extending queue of punters waiting. Finally a woman who seemed to be some kind of manager came in, clearly arriving for her shift but not due to start yet, who went behind the counter and, after a couple of annoyed calls over the radio which went unanswered, dealt with us all herself, still with her outside coat on (complete with TfL "Baby on board" badge). So that delayed my departure by nearly ten minutes

I remember attempting to depart & pay my bill from a hotel wherein I had to go to work & come back later in the afternoon to pay the bill.

Apparently I should have paid the night before but no one mentioned this.

Appropriately it was somewhere close to a place called The Shambles.

Another foot or so of dvds purchased.

The ditzy lady in the RSPCA who isn't exactly the sharpest knife in the box attempted to charge me £10 for a number of dvds, which at most would have been £4.

So I demurred & got overcharged by £1.50 on a £3 transaction instead.

Still being MOTless, I'm about to venture across to Tesco(tm) in Neath Abbey.

I may be some time.

But it's a nice walk.

If you like that sort of thing, like.