The Cost Of A New Duffle Bag

Of course First Capital Connect haven't found my duffle bag, the one I lost here, inspite of me being able to pinpoint it pretty accurately in terms of exactly where I left it and having called within 5 minutes of me getting off the train.

In it was swimwear, goggles, swimming hat, washbag and contents of the washbag. Not too hard nor too costly to replace. But of course nothing is as simple as you think it is.

I bought some very natty swimming goggles:

Speedo, with a little carrying case (black) and some interchangeable bits (in the plastic bag). But they hurt my left eye which seems to stick out a little more than my right and when the glasses are tight, I blink 'against' the goggle, and it hurts. So I bought some more:

These are Zoggs 'Predator' goggles (strange name for swimming goggles) and they are fantastic. They 'suck' the skin without being too tight, and my left eye doesn't hurt when I blink. It is a shame I had two goes to get there but that is the problem when losing a duffle bag. 

When I bought my first pair of goggles (the Speedo ones), I also bought this:

A micro-towel: super-absorbent, packs down very small and seemed just right. But there is a big glitch; it doesn't stretch around my waist, so I can't wrap it around me. Crucial for a towel.

Here is the micro-towel with my foot. The towel may be super-absorbent, but it is just too small. I wouldn't have known that by looking at the packaging. Anyway, I bought a new towel. 

Much better, and bigger, though only the standard size of towel. Boy, that small one is small.

I got a washbag, which is the only thing I haven't had to replace, and I am gradually filling the washbag with the appropriate toiletries.

The moral of all this: "Don't lose your duffle bag"

Direct Action

I really don't like First Captial Connect. Many people don't. Here is someone who clearly doesn't. Yesterday they were queues outside the station as people waited for the service to be resumed after a problem with the overhead cable. Today, it was a cracked line at Farringdon. So I turned around, went home, and tried again an hour later. I got on a train and the journey seemed to be going smoothly until we stopped outside St. Pancras. The driver told us we would have to back up to the last station as St. Pancras had too many trains in it. Great! I was going to be late for work, two hours late, for the second day running. I was annoyed. Whilst in the train, I found, and called, the complaints line for First Capital Connect (at least they have one) and got through to a very pleasant chap. I told him he was very nice but I hoped he was able to move job very soon as it was a dreadful company. I also told him the service was a shambles and then asked my fellow passengers to shout "shambles" into the phone. It was a little hit and miss; some people shouted quite forecfully, others looked on quizzically. But he got the message, and it cheered the passengers up a little, at least those who understood what I was doing. Next time I will orchestrate it better by informing my fellow passengers what I am planning to do, then get a much heartier and full response.

It's Absurd

The notion of have an "on the go meal", which I thought was meant to be a portable meal you could carry with you, served on a tray, with all the trimmings, 20 mins into a 3 hour journey on the Eurostar.

It's Absurd

Why are there so many luggage shops in airports? How often have you seen people turn up to an airport carrying heaps of clothes, looking for somewhere to buy a suitcase, roll-on or hold-all?

It's Absurd

People turning and shielding a free newpaper away from someone sitting next to them on the train so they can't read it.

The Native American and The 15th Century Clock Tower

Native American pan-piper plays in front of 15th Century English church. One for the cultural benefits of our globalised era then.

This clock tower had a mechanical clock from the beginning, a great rarity at the time. It also was used by the Admiralty as a semaphore station in the Napoleonic wars. It only took 5 minutes to relay a message to, or from, Yamounth. Faster than a slow email then! I wonder if the Native Americans could send smoke signals that quickly. Perhaps there is a kindship between the Native Americans and the Clock Tower in St. Albans after all, with early long distance messaging being the common thread.

By the way, as lovely as pan-pipes may be in the Andes, I have a particular loathing for them when accompanied by a pre-recorded backing track of AOR.