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Monday 19 December 2011

Best Christmas Present Ever

My Brother-in-Law's Girlfriend (Chunkette) did a wonderful thing today. She delivered a healthy baby girl to the world. Mother & baby are doing well. I am so over welmed with joy, you'd think she was my baby. I'm so looking forward to meeting her, hopefully later today.

She has come at a great time and she offers such hope for the future. My wife's family have suffered great loss over the past few years, with the loss of both their parents, a sister and an elder Brother (Dopy) who is trying to drink himself to an early grave. The new arrival has provided a huge injection of hope into our hearts and I feel it is our way of fighting back. A way to rebalance to family.

I am on such a high right now that nothing could bring me down today. It takes me back to the day my Son arrived and the amazing joy he gave me. That was the best day of my life and I doubt that anything will ever beat that feeling.

My best wishes, love & hope go to the three of them.

posted from Bloggeroid

Thursday 8 December 2011

Winter is Upon Us Once More

Over the last week, the temperatures have dropped a few degrees announcing that Winter is now upon us. The winds are now starting to bite, the days are getting noticeably shorter and the year is drawing to a close. This dark, dank weather will probably be with us until the end of February next year, by which time we will all be sick of it.Regards


I always look forward to the first signs of the Daffodils poking through the ground. This is the sign that the days will soon be warmer and the weather better. The first opening of those bright yellow trumpets chasing away the greys and browns of winter, lifts my heart and brings hope for the coming year.

In the mean time I will just have to put up with dismal days, low temperatures and gloom.





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Monday 24 October 2011

And Another Week Begins

It's Monday morning once more and the week begins as ever with a train journey to work. The train is only slightly delayed, which is not an uncommon occurrence. It's one of those things that you get used to. Today there is a seat with name on it, which is always a welcome discovery.

The sun is also with me this fine morning. This is also a well sight as all to soon the weather will deteriorate into the dark, damp gloom of winter. The days will be short and the air cold. Darkness will consume the country for what seems like a lifetime. All the time longing for the appearance of the Daffodils which announce the arrival of spring to lift out spirits.

posted from Bloggeroid

Wednesday 28 September 2011

London By Train

I caught an early train today, so I could be on-site ready to start work at 7am. As I started my journey it was dark and I quickly fell asleep on the train. When I woke up the warming autumn sun was just rising above the horizon and I recognized the various buildings as we passed by. There was the recycling centre, Millwall FC's ground (The New Den) and various other buildings, both new and old. As we approached London Bridge we passed the signal box that I know so well. Over the years I have spent many days and nights working there. At one time it felt like my second home. The new Shard at the station is almost complete now and when it's finished it will be the tallest building in the UK. When it was half finished it reminded me of the cooling towers at the ill fated Chernobyl nuclear power station. I will probably always remember it that way too.

Continuing north from there I remember that my Grand Father, whom I never knew, was born on Blackfriars Bridge Road in the latter part of the 19th century. The building in which his parents lived has long since gone, but somehow it's seems important to remember where my ancestors came from. My Father, another Londoner was born slightly further south in Kennington, Lambeth.

The next station we pass is Blackfriars, which is currently being rebuilt and only the through platforms are currently open. It doesn't feel very welcoming at all, but hopefully this will improve once the building work is complete.

Next we stop at City Thameslink, formerly know as St. Pauls Thameslink. It's a strange subterrarium station which always feels cold and uninviting. The white walls seem so drab and dull. For some reason it has a very long platform, which has two signal sections and can probably accommodated two 12 car trains at once.

We then visit my favourite station on this line, Farringdon. I love the warm sandstone coloured bricks and the beautiful light that comes in through the high glazed roof. It somehow feels as if I have travelled into the Victoria age and all that is missing are the steam trains. When I used to work at Euston I would changed onto the tube here, which meant I could avoid the huge crowds at London Bridge or Victoria. I used to hate trying to get on the Northern or Victoria tube lines in the mornings as there was always such an oppressive amount of commuters trying to do the same. At Farringdon it's a short trip across the bridge to the other platform and the tube trains were never crowded.

St. Pancras Domestic is the next stop, which takes you directly into the beautifully refurbished St. Pancras station. The designers and engineering have done a wonderful restoration job on the train shed roof. It lets in such a lot of soft light. That is truly the best station in the world bar none. The subterranean Thameslink platforms however are all concrete and stainless steel. It is very unwelcoming and for me, lets down the rest of what is a quite amazing station.

I final get to West Hampstead Thameslink station at 7:09, which is where my journey ends today. This station is also being rebuilt, with new over bridges and station entrance. It is due for completion later this year and should improve the passenger experience. I wonder when I will get a chance to see the finished product?

In 12 hours time I will be reliving the whole journey in reverse order. By which time it will be almost dark once more.

Regards



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On Loan

This week I am working in West Hampstead London. My previous employer, the one who made me redundant 19 months ago, don't have enough qualified engineers to fulfill their requirements to their main customer. My ex Boss called me a few weeks ago to ask if I would mind helping out for a while. I of course said yes as my current position is currently far from exciting and I jumped at the chance to feel useful once more. Emails were exchanged, numbers were crunched and a contract was signed between our two companies and here I am on temporary loan.

As soon as I arrived on site I was greeted by numerous familiar faces and was warmly welcomed back into the old gang. Within minutes I had solved a minor problem and it was as if I had never left. I felt at home and at ease.

That was a night shift last Friday night and two more followed in quick succession. By the early hours of Monday morning collectively we completely replaced one Signalling control system, provided one new system and up dated two more. I personnel had over seen one of these upgrades, thoroughly tested it and brought it into use. If you have travelled anywhere between West Hampstead Thameslink and Blackfrairs stations since 4am on Monday morning, I have helped your journey go as smoothly as possible. If you have experienced any details, they were not of my doing as the equipment I have worked on has behaved itself beautifully.

This week I am working days monitoring all these new and upgraded systems. So far I've been very bored, sitting around just in case something goes wrong. Of course I hope nothing does fail, but if it does at least I'd have something to do.

While I sit here writing this I suddenly feel quite sad that I was made redundant from a job I loved. I did however walk straight into another job with a company which treats it's staff very well indeed and I suppose I should be grateful that I have a job at all in the current economical climate. The fact remains that after 19 months, I still feel like an outsider. A round peg in a square hole. I feel that my current employer is wasting their money by not using me and my skills to their full potential. I want to shine and excel, but I cannot. It could of course be my own fault for not speaking up. Maybe I should stop feeling sorry for myself and push myself forward.

The fact remains that I have enjoyed this last weekends work and I would be keen to do more if asked. Being a "hands on" engineer is far more rewarding than driving a desk all week.

Regards



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Tuesday 30 August 2011

Tuesday Morning

Today is Tuesday, the day after the August Bank Holiday. As I walk to the station I see numberous people putting out their rubbish for collection. There's a middle aged women in her pajamas who just nipped out to put her bags by the kerb. A little further on I see a council worker attending to a fault on his ride-on mower, before he continues on his way leaving a trail of grass cuttings behind him.

I then spot a Man in a freshly ironed shirt adding recycling to his Red Top bin. As I draw nearer I notice that he's not wearing any trousers. Just an unflattering pair of white Y-fronts with black piping. Rather than dashing out, placing his rubbish quickly in the bin and dashing in again, he loiters far longer than required. It's as if he saying to the world, "Look at me, I have no shame". I wonder if he regularly treats his neighbours to this display?

As I hurry on, my mind returns to my day ahead. My heart sinks as I think of the tight deadlines I have to meet.

posted from Bloggeroid

Monday 25 July 2011

Norwegian Tragedy

On Friday 22nd July 2011 a Norwegian Man set off a huge bomb in Oslo and then proceeded to murder numerous people at a youth camp on a nearby coastal island. So far about 95 people have been confirmed died at the hands of this deranged being.

My heart goes out to all those who have lost loved ones and the Norwegian people. The Norwegian people in general are a peace loving nation. I found them to be very nice people when I visited Norway in my youth. It is a truly beautiful county and the events of last Friday have saddened me greatly.

I cannot even begin to understand what drives seeming ordinary people to do such despicable things to their fellow humans. It is just beyond all reason and goes completely against the morals of right minded people anywhere. I don't care what his reasoning was behind this horrible crime, because there is just no way that what he did could possibly be justified. I refuse to even mention his name. That would be far more than he ever deserves.

My thoughts and prayers are for those innocent people & their families who have had their lives destroyed in such an unspeakable way by this hideous man.

Regards



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Wednesday 13 July 2011

New Shoe Direct to the Door



I don't often buy shoes, but when I do I like to get good ones. I've found that Clarks shoe, although at little pricey, last far better than any other high street brand I've tried. The trip is to wait for a sale and then get them half price. Typicaly I pay around £40 for an £80 pair.
My current pair have lasted me somewhere between 3 or 4 years, but are looking quite tired now. The insoles are almost non-existant, which makes them quite uncomfortable to wear if walk any great distance. I can't really complain as I walk between 7 and 10 miles a day Monday to Friday. According to my pedometer that is. I feel I've had my moneys worth.

On Sunday I popped into Clarks as i noticed they were having a sale. They had the usual types of formal shoes I like, but none were quite right. However, they did have a very nice pair in a size 9 that I rather liked, but they were a but narrow and they had no 9 1/2's left. I was surprised to learn that i could order them in 9 1/2 and have them delivered direct to my door at no extra charge, while still paying the sale price. I was concerned there might be a problem if they didn't fit, but they told me to just bring them back. That's what I call service. Top marks Clarks. A lot of other retailers could learn a lot from them.

They arrived today and so far they're a great fit and I am a very satisfied customer. I think ill drop them an email to say thanks. 8-)

posted from Bloggeroid

Tuesday 5 July 2011

What's That Smell?

I'm a fan of smelly cheese, as my wife like to call it. My favourite has to be good old English Stilton. My wife however is not a fan and the best she can manage is Medium Cheddar. It's a shame as she's missing out on huge amounts of flavour and enjoyment.

It does mean that there's more for me I suppose, so there is an up side LOL.

Sent from my HTC Sensation

posted from Bloggeroid

Wednesday 15 June 2011

A Dull & Ordinary Week

This week, although only partially complete, has been rather dull & unexciting. Even the weather can't decide which way to turn. It started the week a little damp, warm up a bit & now it's overcast, with the threat of rain.

Work has been slow and moanful too. Last week I was busy, but now that has past. Tomorrow however promises to be much more exciting. It's the divisions annual Cricket match in Dorridge. Personally I'm not a fan of Cricket and I won't be playing, but it's a day off work, with free food & drink. On top of that, it's a chance to "Network" and catch up with people I rarely have a chance to meet. Many of my colleagues are voices on the phone or words in an email. It's time to meet face-to-face at long last.

The only downside is the early start to get there and the fact that I have a terrible memory for names. I have a photographic memory and never forget a face. Perhaps we should all wear name badges tomorrow. Lol


Regards
Chris
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Tuesday 17 May 2011

Anonymous Commuters

I commute to work daily. Today however is a little different as I'm heading to London for a meeting. I've caught a train an hour earlier than normal and it's packed.

As I stand wedged in a corner I realise that I spend an awful lot of my time with people I don't know. There's a woman to whom I gave the last seat, reading an A4 document with all the Important bits marked with yellow highlighter. There are two women drinking hot liquids from stainless steal flasks. Many of us are listening to our favourite sounds through headphones. Most are small in-ear ones, but 3 of us have larger over the ear types, myself included. I find they shut out the noise far better and allow for lower volumes to be used. Loonies tend to leave me be too.

There are various mobile phones, Blackberry's, iPhones and one iPad in a fetching shade of white. There are suit wearer, tie wearers and 2 wearer of jeans.



All of a sudden we arrive at our destination, London Bridge. I'm surprised at the lack of urgency displayed by my fellow commuters to get off the train. But once off it was on with the mad dash to the Tube. I did this journey for two years in the early 2000's and I don't miss it one bit. The Tube from London Bridge is a nightmare of delays and Sardines. Not a nice experience and I'm in no hurry to repeat it daily. Once in a while is plenty for me.

I caught the Jubilee Line to Canada Water expecting it to be fairly lightly loaded. How wrong I was. It was obvious that this section of the tube is now just as packed in the rush hour as every other section.

From at Canada Water I caught the recently reopened East London line. I actually designed the control & indication system that controls the signalling for this line, but this was my first trip on it. I am happy to report that my design worked perfectly well today 8-)




I was surprised that so many people could fit on these trains. I thought they would never stop getting of the thing. Eventually they did stop and the reason why so many could squeeze on became clear. Very few seats. Most of the area was designed to allow maximum people to stand. It seems to work quite well to.

I arrived early for my meeting, which was all over by 10:15 and then it was time for the return journey.

Regards
Chris
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Thursday 28 April 2011

Pedestrian Warning: Please Look Where You're Going in Croydon!

There have be three pedestrians seriously injured in George Street, Croydon over the past couple of months and they have all been Women. This does actually surprise me, as statistically Men are more prone to risk taking than Men.

The first, a pregnant woman in her 20's was hit by a Double Decker bus while crossing the road outside East Croydon station. She was also rushed to St George's Hospital in Tooting, suffering a fractured skull and her unborn child had to be delivered early. I understand that both mother and baby are doing well.

The second was about a fortnight ago, where a women in her 40's running for a Tram tripped in front of it and was carried about 10 yards into the Tram stop outside East Croydon station. She was also rushed to St George's in Tooting. I haven't heard anymore about her injuries, but I understand that they were described as "Life Changing" at the time.

Today slightly further down the road, opposite Boots, another Woman in her 20's was hit by a Tram. Apparently she was seen to be looking down at her mobile phone and just stepped out in front of it. She was also given a fast lift to St. George's.

The Trams in Croydon are big, bright green and come at regular intervals. They are very hard not to see as are the bright red Double Decker buses. So why are so many people not seeing them? Could it be a case of complacency breeding contempt?

Whatever the cause of these Women's ill attention and misjudged sense of immortality, I would like to appeal to all my readers (male, female or undecided) and the wider public to please pay attention to the world around you. It could just save your life!

Regards



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Friday 15 April 2011

Remembering old friends

I met John about 20 years ago, just after I joined the Railway. At first glance you'd think he was just a grumpy bloke, but I got to know him better during a training course he ran at a Hotel in Derby. I learnt an awful lot from him over the course of the next fortnight. Information which I still use on an almost daily basis today.

He retired about 8 years ago and sadly passed away soon afterwards. Today would have been his 70th birthday. Many friends & colleagues of his will be travelling to London to attend a get together in his honour this afternoon. Not only will we be remembering John, but it will be a wonderful opportunity to catch up with old friends. Those whom my path has crossed over the years. After all, the railway industry is a close knit community and it seems to breed some very interesting characters.

As I've traveled through life I've learnt that the people you meet on the way often leave footprints on your soul. Some of those prints are huge and will stay with you forever.

Regards
Chris
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Spain: Train fares cut to save energy

This is an interesting concept which I would welcome here, especially if it reduces the cost of my daily commute. Here ia an outline of the Spanish Govt plans, as published by Railway Gazette,
SPAIN: Under a national energy-saving plan approved by the cabinet last month, fares on RENFE suburban and medium-distance services are to be cut by 5% to encourage greater use of public transport.


The Ministry of Development expects this to result in 22 million fewer car journeys into major cities over four months.


Along with a package of measures including a reduction in the motorway speed limit from 120 to 110 km/h, the plan aims to save 286 million barrels of oil and €23bn a year, cutting annual CO2 emissions by 125 million tonnes.
I do however think their figures are slightly over estimated and a 5% cut is not an enormous amount. On my annual season ticket I would only save £100. Over the course of 12 months that equates to a saving of only £8.33 per month. I doubt that will change the world very much. A good idea? Yes, but could do better!

Original article - Railway Gazette: Train fares cut to save energy
Regards



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Thursday 14 April 2011

Strange Annoucements

I recently noticed an interesting announcement at my home railway station. It goes something like this,

"Please stand clear of the train at platform 2. It is ready to leave"

Not an unreasonable request you might think. However, it is very often used before the arriving train has even stopped. How exactly are we supposed to get on this service? Perhaps we are supposed to jump onto the outside and hang there like they do in India. That way Southern Railway can cram on even more people without spending any more money and still claim a capacity increase. Now there a bit of Blue-sky thinking for you.

Personally it's the poor ticket inspectors I feel sorry for. They will not doubt be expected to check the tickets of the hangers on. That'll be fun in the winter and I'm absolutely certain that Bob Crow will have something very loud to say on the subject.

Regards
Chris
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Wednesday 13 April 2011

The Rise & Rise of Crawley Town FC

What a season it's been. The FA Cup took us to Old Trafford where 9,000 of us made more noise than the 67,000 Manchester United fans put together. When I watched the TV coverage the following day, I couldn't believe the volume of our chanting. It was simply an amazing experience. A shame they beat us 1-0, but they are one of the best teams in the world. There's always next season 8-)

From there we just kept going up the Blue Square Premiership, trading places at the top with (the Real) Wimbledon. Not that shower who All the time keeping an eye out for Luton Town, Wrexham & Kidderminster Harriers. Last Saturday we beat Tamworth away 3-0, which sealed our promotion to the Football League.

Last night we played Luton Town at the Broadfield. It would have been a sell out crowd if not for Luton not being able to sell their allocation of 600 tickets. Only about 200 of them turned up. The theory is that because we'd already qualified they didn't want to give us any more money for no reason. Sounds like sour grapes to me, but at least they should get the chance to go up via the play offs. Personally I'd like to see AFC Wimbledon come up with us, but Chunky prefers Kidderminster for some reason. It's all in the lap of the Gods now I suppose.

There was a great party atmosphere, despite the fact that we drew 1-1 against Luton. We all stayed on after the game as we were presented with our Champions Cup. There was Champagne, lots of jumping around and singing. Despite the chill in the air, there was great hope for next season in 3000 hearts.



Chanting,
"We are the Champions, We are the Champions.
No time for losers, cause we are the Champions.
Of the League."
(repeat until you are horse)

Life long fan & joint owner of the club, Bruce Winfield, sadly died just before we achieved the title. It was largley due to his support and financial management that we were able to reach the heady hights of the Football League. He would have been so proud.



Thank you Bruce, we won't forget you!

Tuesday 12 April 2011

How we became a 2 cat family again

When we first bought our house, number one on our shopping list was a cat. In fact we ended up with two. They grew up together and we didn't have the heart to separate them. One jet black and the other black & white with a white question mark on her back.

Unfortunately the black one, who was the most inquisitive of the pair, met an untimely end due to some form of road vehicle. We were inconsolable at our loss. It was like loosing a close family member, perhaps a child. We made the decision not to replace her for fear of upsetting the remaining cat. That was over 14 years ago.

About 5 years ago my Father-in-Law moved from a 2 bedroom house with his youngest son, Chunky, to a 1 bedroom flat on his own. It soon became apparent that he was lonely living on his own, so we encouraged him to get a cat. After a call to the Cat Protection League and a home visit to check his suitability, he had a new house mate. He was a very friendly black male cat who was about a year old.

When my Father-in-Law passed on last June, his cat went in live with my elder Brother-in-Law, Dopey. That was the logical choice at the time as we were worried about the affect of introducing a new cat to our now elderly moggie. Chunky & Chunkette already had 2 cats of their own and didn't want another.

Dopey has been having a few personnel problems of late. Due to his inappropriate relationship with alcohol he has in the last few years lost his second wife and job. Despite much support from his immediate family he has failed to change his ways. He favours making incomprehensible phone calls at stupid O'clock in the morning, which hasn't won him any friends. Quite the opposite in fact. My wife is about the only person who will talk to him, but never after about 8pm as he will be drunk and just talk utter rubbish.

In one of his now famous phone calls one Saturday in January, he told his Brother Chunky that he couldn't afford to feed the cat. He suggested that he had phoned the RSPCA and they would collect the cat from him the following day. Chunky saw red, dashed round to Dopey's house and repossessed his late Dad's cat. Since then he has been living with us.

Over the past couple of months he has been spoiled rotten, gained weight and discovered our garden, which he really enjoys. As it happens we need not have worried about the effect on our elderly feline. She is not particularly happy about his presence, but grumpily puts up with him. He stays out of her way and can run faster than her when she throws one of her a hissy fits. The only problem we have had is that he occasionally likes to wake me at 2am for a tummy rub. The word "Sucker" springs to mind.

Regards
Chris
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Monday 11 April 2011

Forgetful, Disorganised & Late

Those three innocuous words pretty much describe how I bumble through life. This morning was no exception either.

I climbed out of the shower with just 12 minutes to catch my train. It's a 15 minute walk to the station. Having decided that although it was a nice warm morning, getting dressed before dashing out would be a wise idea. The train would just have to manage without me today. Besides, there'll be another along 20 minutes later.

It gave me time to collect daily accessories together. These include my wallet, season ticket, lunch, headphones and keys. After a frantic search I realised that my key refused to be uncovered. It was then that I remembered forgetting to bring home a bag from my Mums after a visit yesterday. They must be in that very bag 8-( I'll just have to wing it today, in the hope that I'm not the first home tonight.

Mrs T-E kindly asked me to put the bins out ready for collection later. Today being the fortnightly recycling collection, I though I'd better empty the kitchen recycler on my way out. When I got to the front door, with no keys, I decided to put the recycler tray on the stairs while I hunted a spare key. CRASH! The hall was now full of various recyclable waste as the tray kindly over balanced. I found a key, unlocked the door, picked up the lose detritus from the floor, deposited it the recycling bin and dashed off to work.

Having plugged myself into the latest Above & Beyond Trance-cast on my iPhone, I realised that in my rush to leave I had completely forgotten to put either of the bins out. A quick call to Mrs T-E solved that, but I could tell from her lack of surprise that she is used to my ineptitude.

As I ended the call, I noticed that I had only 4 minutes to catch my late train. Luckily for me they hadn't quite closed the doors and I ran breathlessly onto the platform.

And now on with the rest of my poorly planned day 8-)

BTW - There is nothing unusual about this morning. It's often my lunch that I forget. Such is (my) life. LoL

Regards
Chris
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Thursday 31 March 2011

Spring Has Sprung

The Daffodils have opened up their bright yellow trumpets, announcing to the world that Spring is at last upon us. The blast of yellow is always welcome and cheers my soul enormously.

Over the last couple of weeks the weather has been very mild. Unseasonably so the Met Office tell us. I think it's about time I got my motorbike her first MOT so I can get out and lift my spirits further still. I do love the sense of freedom and personal space I get from riding. Man & machine in perfect harmony on the open road. There's no need to stress about roads clogged with traffic. That's not an issue as I breeze past those imprisoned in their metal boxes. Undisturbed by mobile phones, I just drink in the elation of freedom, solitude and power. For a few hours I am King of my World. All too briefly it's over and I have to return to my reality, but with me I take a reinvigorated heart & soul.

Regards
Chris
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Thursday 17 February 2011

Music: Howard Jones

My parents are from a Classical music background and "Top of The Pops" wasn't their thing. As a consequence I didn't really discover pop music until the early 1980's. It was of course an era of electronic music and I was hooked to the great sound of synthesizers.


Howard Jones was (and still is) one of the great keyboard wizards. I have followed his career ever since. Unfortunately, he no longer gets radio airplay.


Here is his first hit release on 17th September 1983 - "New Song"



I enjoyed that so much that I thought I'd post another of my favourites from 1984 - "Pearl in Shell"


And to end this blog I just had to add this master piece. It was released in March 1986 and reached No.16 in the UK charts, but I understand it made No.1 in the USA. It remains today one of my favourite songs. 
"No One Is To Blame". Enjoy.





Regards



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Music: A Passion of Mine

I come from a musical family and you could say it's in my DNA. My tastes are many and varied, but there are some genres I just can't stand.  I'm not a big Opera fan, despite my heritage. I just don't get all that warbling in Italian or German. Having said that I did take my Mum to the Royal Opera house to see Rigoletto for her 70 Birthday. Don't tell anyone, but it was rather good.

Other styles I dislike include Country & Western, Boy Bands (sic) and (C)Rap. In my youth I used to listen to BBC Radio 1 most of the day, but I became increasing bored with it's constant round of nonsensical chart music. I realised that I was listening to BBC Radio 2 and enjoying. That must mean I'm getting old I suppose.


For some time I've been thinking about writing a series of blogs about the music I love, complete with links to videos. I thought about calling it "100 Favourite Songs" or "100 Favourite Artists", but that would just limit my options. Therefore I shall just call the series just simply "Music:". The only problem is knowing where to start!


While I'm writing this in the corner of my dining room, I'm listening to "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin and I'm sure it will be revisited again soon 8-)

Regards



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Wednesday 16 February 2011

David vs Goliath

As I think I mentioned in an earlier blog, I've never really been a big football fan. This was mainly due to me not being very sporty in my youth and all the thuggery at football matches. The final straw for me was the Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985, after which I became a Rugby fan and technology geek.


Many years later my Brother-in-Law Chunky moved in with us and being a football fan himself, got me interested again. I started watching Match of the Day with him and my Son, and eventually I started joining them at Crawley Town FC's home games.

After a few turbulent seasons, Crawley started to do quite well in the Blue Square Premiership, which is one level below Football League Two. Last year the club managed to pay off it's crippling debt and this season a new sponsor has enabled the team to buy some top players. At present it looks likely that we my win the league this year and gain promotion to League Two, where we can play with the big boys.


On top of this we have done surprisingly well in the FA, beating Swindon Town (League One), Derby County (Championship) and finally Torquay United (League Two). This meant that we were the first non-league team for years to get through to the 5th round. On Sunday 30th January this year we were drawn against one of the biggest clubs in the world. The Mighty Manchester United in an away fixture at Old Trafford.






Since then it seems that the whole Town has gone completely football mad. Our little town seems to be constantly in the local and national news. The Sun newspaper (sic) is a sudden sponsor. Even the Steve Boyce Band have written a tune to celebrate.



So this coming Saturday about 9,000 of us, myself, Junior and Chunky included, are travelling to Manchester to watch to game and you never now. We might even win! Wish us luck 8-)

COME ON YOU REDS!!!!


Regards



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Thursday 27 January 2011

Season Ticket Failure

Last Tuesday I renewed my annual railway season ticket. Because on the the state of our economy and the fact that the Westminster Muppet Show have loosened controls on the fares train operators can charge, my ticket has broken the £2000 barrier for the first time. This equates to a 7.7% increase from last year, which is more than 2% above inflation. I'd like to point out that my salary is extremely unlikely to keep pace.

Southern Trains have over the last couple of years been fitting automated ticket barriers and my home station received them early last year. This shouldn't be a problem if you have a valid ticket to insert into the machine. However, mine stopped operating the barriers in just over a month last year. This meant that everyday I had to queue up at the manual side barrier four times each day. Mostly this was fine, but on a couple of occasions the speed of the queue ment I missed my train.

I was so please when last Tuesday my new ticket let me through the barriers without any delay. Unfortunately I seem to have set a new record as this morning it failed to work. I made that just seven days of un-impeded travel. I have two choices, visit the ticket office & ask for a replacement or spend the next 12 months queuing up 4 times a day!

Regards
Chris
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Thursday 6 January 2011

January Blues

I was going to write about all the things that have been getting me down this week. In fact I wrote over 200 words on the subject, but that just made me feel even more feed up and I was sounding like a “Super Grumpy Old Man”. So I stopped my moaning and got on with my day instead. By lunchtime I was snowed under with work and started to feel useful once more. The final therapy came at 3pm when I received the weekly gentle reminder from my calendar to fill in my timesheet. This of course signals that the weekend is now insight. A fact which always cheers my heart.

Then I cheered myself up further by writing this little song.

I woke up this morning,
And crawled out of bed.
Outside was dark & wet,
Indoors was just cold.
I moaned to myself,
like I always do,
I just can’t get out of these, January Blues
It sounded much better when I sang it to myself in the kichen. Honest it did!

Perhaps January isn’t all bad 8-)


Regards



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