Seven posts that I considered writing today but they were going nowhere so I didn't finish them
What's the lowest numbered A road you've never driven on?
It's not the A1 because I've driven my Volkswagen along that in Wyboston. It's not the A2 because I've been driven along that in thick fog returning from a steam railway. It's not the A3 because our choir outing used to go that way every year. It's not the A4 because I've ridden aboard the number 38 bus. It's not the A5 because I've navigated an Audi through Milton Keynes. It's not the A6 because I used to go that way to work every morning. It might be the A7, although I think I once got a taxi across North Bridge from Waverley station so it probably isn't. It's not the A8 because I've caught the bus from Edinburgh airport into the city. I'm pretty sure it's the A9 because...
Wow didn't it just get cold?
I've now been keeping data on the temperature in my living room for three years. I note the indoor temperature first thing in the morning when I wake up (when it can't be influenced by central heating because I never have that on overnight). The shape of the graph is quite similar each year, rising above 20°C in early June and dropping below 20°C around the end of September. But this year's collapse has been really swift, from 20°C on Friday to just 15.5°C yesterday, as we switched from shortsleeves to winter coats in just three days. Also see how summer 2022's peak is much higher than the summers either side, and how winters can be of wildly variable severity...
Do you have travel plans for Easter?
Well think again because Crossrail won't be running from Good Friday to Easter Monday, the entire four days. No purple trains will run between Paddington and Abbey Wood and no purple trains will run between Paddington and Shenfield, i.e the entire central section will be closed along with both eastern branches. Admittedly trains will still be running west of Paddington, but on Easter Sunday not before 7.45 am. I guess engineering works have to be carried out sometime, but how cruel to target those flocking across London attempting to enjoy a long weekend of chocolate-based social events and spring-themed dining opportunities. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news...
I went somewhere in London yesterday
It wasn't somewhere I'm overly familiar with so I wanted to explore a bit more. I took the bus and it took me all round the houses which were quite dull. I walked past the library into the park which was quite dull. I peered into the church which was quite old and surprised an elderly parishioner who was coming in behind me. I followed what was supposedly a public footpath but ended up in a scrappy field with a horse. I couldn't get to the most famous location because it was inaccessible. I missed the historic location because I didn't do proper research before I went. I might come back again one day and write about it properly. Or I might not because it was quite dull...
Happy St Æthelred and Æthelberht's Day
October 17th is the feast day of these two saints, often forgotten, but who are proper British saints so should definitely be remembered. Æthelred and Æthelberht were pious Christian princes living in 7th century Kent, somewhere in the vicinity of modern Sandwich. But a courtier thought they threatened his preferred line of succession so had them murdered, and he might have got away with hiding the bodies had they not lit up with a pillar of light revealing their whereabouts. The King was full of remorse and planned to bury them both in Canterbury, but their corpses refused to be moved until he changed his mind and decided to bury them near Prittlewell instead. Best get celebrating...
A consultation has launched for buses in Kidbrooke
If you've ever caught a bus through Kidbrooke you'll know they go on a time consuming loop round Tudway Road, only ever clockwise, which can get a bit annoying. Well there are now plans to remove the worst diversionary contortions, this because the creation of the new housing estate has finally added a connecting road past the station. Buses on routes 178, 335 and B16 will now turn off through the soulless 'village centre', both ways, simplifying things a bit. It's hard to see why anyone would object to the change of route, except perhaps to the appearance of a new bus stop outside their flat, making this consultation legally necessary but fundamentally pointless...
Big Brother is quite fun this year
It all comes down to two things, the contestants and the tasks. They've picked a decent crew of 16 housemates, a proper cross section, none of whom are outright abrasive but many of whom are easily riled. And they haven't given them ridiculously convoluted tasks like in the C5 years, it's back to good old shopping tasks and secret missions, plus the inevitable antagonism when food gets low or luxuries are withdrawn. Yinrun won hearts with her big wig, Kerry blew her top when she saw the portaloo and Henry and Jordan are embroiled in a Tory bromance that might go further. Ratings have been higher than they hoped so expect to see a Celebrity version on ITV1 next year...
