Old London Town

Image Source: http://www.essential-architecture.com/LO/022-Paddington_Station_rush_hour.jpg

So today I had my first experience of heading into London from Reading. This was mildly exciting as I had never been to London Padington before, however this excitment was dulled somewhat when I got there and 1/2 was covered in scaffolding - still the train was nicely refurbished inside.

I met a very good friend from my school days for lunch (on him) near where he works for the FSA in Canary Wharf (thank you again!) which was nice, especially since it's been ages since we had a proper catch up. It was nice to be in London again and I must confess I spent more money than I had intended. In my defence how could I resist when I was in the largest Waterstones I know of (Picadilly Circus). The reason I spent more than I was intending was that the new Patricia Cornwell novel was at less than 1/2 price when you spent £10 (I could easily spend 10 times that much in there). One paperback isn't enough, but two is somewhat over, but at least I now have three books to keep me going, as the one I am currently reading is quickly nearing the end - already!

That was the second good part of the day. BUT then it went a bit down hill. I got back to Padington only to realise that there was an afternoon peak from 16:00 so the last train I could get turned out to be the slow service on trains needing a bit of a refurb. Then when I got into Reading after going in two Sainsbury's and WH Smith, I couldn't get a copy of the Daily Telegraph as they had all sold out. Whilst I realise these are petty problems compared to those that many people have, it still made me a little grumpy.

Still I did get my Starbucks on the way home :-)

Lj x

STOP! Well I Just Dance The Way I Feel

image source: http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3398469323546031236

So, I actually went jogging this morning despite my legs still protesting. Unfortunately it served to remind me how unfit I've become and why I need to cut down on the cake (not helped at all by the bakery counter in Waitrose!). On a kind of related side note, after finally being connected to the internet, upon checking my e-mail I discover I have missed a free muffin morning at Starbucks for card holders - I'm both frustrated by this and also relieved as even if I'd had a 'skinny' muffin this would have been a bad start to my new healthy living!



Anyway, I was thinking (worrying? probably!) as I walked into town earlier about lies that mums/dads tell children. For example my mum always told me to eat my peas otherwise I wouldn't grow a hairy chest. This begs the question, why would a seven year old particularly wish to have a hairy chest? I should point out that my basis for this being a lie is that I have never liked peas and so rarely ate them as a child, yet my chest (from a worryingly early age in my opinion) is indeed covered in hair. Rather than making me feel manly, I rather feel like a yeti most mornings. It's a good thing I never sleep walked at scout camps otherwise I probably would hve been shot by hunters in the woods. I've side-tracked - whoops.

I'll leave you for today with a book update - I have now finished 'A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian' and can confidently say it is well worth a read.

Lj x

Duck Invasion

Hi

Well as you can see this is my first post. I have no idea if anyone will actually read this...if you do I hope you find it interesting!

I'm all alone in a new town at the moment as my boyfriend is on a residential training course for work at the moment. So what have I been doing?

This morning I was going to go running, but apparently after having gone for a run Monday morning my body (particularly my legs) were having none of it - so I went for a civilised walk instead! I popped into Tesco (which by the way is HUGE and full of horrible tacky bright colours - can you tell I'm not a Tesco fan?) brought bread and then fed the Ducks, Swans, Canadian Geese, Morehens...



I'm still amazed at how Ducks seem to be able to sense bread from semmingly large distances, and it is almost scary as they all come swooping towards you, spraying water everywhere as they land. One Duck soon becomes a swarm of Ducks and Swans!

Anyway, I didn't spend the whole day feeding Ducks, I'm not quite that sad (~). I popped into town to sit in Starbucks with a Grande Soya Sugar Free Vanilla Latte (something which I always struggle to order without preparing myself mentally beforehand) and 'A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian' by Marina Lewycka. Despite not being grabbed as soon as I turned the first page, it has turned out to be a very interesting and at times a 'chuckle to myself' funny read. I'd recommend giving it a go, and I challenge you not to feel connected to the characters, which I can all too easily imagine are real.

I also brought the Daily Telegraph/Torygraph whilst in town, and I continue to be infuriated by the news that after flogging our gold reserves at around a quarter of its current market price between 1999 and 2002, Gordon Brown is now hoping to sell assets such as the Channel Tunnel and Dartford Crossing at knock down prices. Is he mad? (Rhetorical Question!) Surely it would be better to wait for prices to rise again! As one reader points out in his letter to the Editor, "budget deficit should be measured as the change in debt minus the change in assetts" (N G Mankiw) so yes we may have less debt, but also fewer assetts so overall no change really!

GGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Anyway, on that note, I'd best go before I start to rant!

Ta Ta

Lj x