Mon 1: The excellent annual London Reconnections quiz has been published. If you read my FoI post today it has spoilers for question 2. [and if you're reading this on 30th December, you've still got two days to get your answers in]. Tue 2: The Mayor posted on social media "London is magical at this time of year – using public transport is the best way to enjoy everything the capital has to offer" ...and illustrated it with a festive photo of a bus on part of Oxford Street he intends to pedestrianise. If you're the wonk who writes his social media posts, do get a grip. Wed 3: Back in August I reported that the Greenway path was due to close between Abbey Creek and Upper Road from October 2025 to autumn 2028 for sewer repair works. Well it hasn't shut yet, they delayed the closing date and it's now 26th January 2026. No change to the reopening data alas, so prepare for lengthy inconvenience.
Thu 4: I made a graphic to show the UK's twelve busiest railway stations, shared it online and it became my first-ever tweet with over 1 million views. I was amazed that Musk's depleted platform could still cause ripples, it's essentially dead on there now. Fri 5: The World Cup draw was a jaw-dropping act of arse-licking toadery, but this is 2025 and we are alas used to jaw-dropping acts of arse-licking toadery. Sat 6: I can't believe I've just agreed to 10 days, and all for 64 seconds. Sun 7: If we can't have Doctor Who this year we can instead have Russell Tovey getting jiggy in the sea with a fish. The five-part series held a lot of promise and preached well but didn't convincingly stick the landing. Mon 8: In Swanley I saw a car with an XE registration plate, and I didn't think I'd ever see one of those because XA-XF are restricted to 'personal exports'. I've chosen to ignore it otherwise I'll never again have seen 'all the registration letter pairs', I'll always have five pairs left.
Tue 9: The new Co-op opposite Plaistow station has a sign above the door saying "Welcome to Plaistow Station's Co-op". Fair enough. But the sign above the tills says "Here to help in Plaistow Station", and that's why you should never get databases to design your signage. Wed 10: On the platforms at Chadwell Heath I spotted two people in matching grey caps and jackets embroidered with the name 'Rail Pastors'. According to their website they're vigilant Christian souls on the lookout for people in need and lives to save (Havering branch). Thankfully they didn't look busy. Thu 11: I bought my double issue Radio Times from a very cheery soul in Tracks News in Oxted. This year's cover price is £6.50, up from £5.95 last year and £5.50 the year before. Fri 12: In case you were wondering, yes the annual display of December daffodils in the Olympic Park is already in full swing.
Sat 13: According to a notice in Cator Park, if you want snakes at your social event you should email reptile_lad @yahoo.com. The going rate is £65 for one hour or £100 for two. Children's parties included, but sorry no stag or hen parties. Sun 14: Bugger, not again. Mon 15: I always sign my Christmas cards with a Berol italic pen, but my long-standing 'large black' dried up this year after I accidentally left the top off. Damn, I thought, but checked my stash of obsessively-purchased Berols and found a 4-pack with a price label saying 'Trago Mills £3.14'. I must have bought that in 1999, but it worked perfectly as if it were brand new and that is damned good for a 26 year-old calligraphy pen. Tue 16: On Kilburn High Road a lot of honking heralded the arrival of a procession of large tractors bedecked with bright lights, aiming for Whitehall. They stopped outside M&S Food to regroup, then continued even more noisily to a protest in Whitehall. [it worked too, within a week]
Wed 17: That's the first time I've walked past Michael Palin's house whilst aware it was Michael Palin's house. As seen at the start of Great Railway Journeys (Confessions Of A Train Spotter) in 1980. Thu 18: Anorak corner extra: The busiest bus routes at Bus Stop M: 25 (9.3m), 8 (5.7m), 425 (5.0m), 276 (3.4m), 108 (3.2m), 488 (1.6m), N25 (1.0m), N205 (0.4m) Fri 19: Talking Pictures TV is reshowing The Omega Factor, a paranormal thriller first broadcast in the summer of 1979. I loved what I saw back then but didn't manage to watch it all, and missed the start of most episodes because I went out on Wednesdays and couldn't run home fast enough for the 8.10 start. I'm saving them all up as a boxset. Sat 20: A group of boys on bikes, maybe 200 strong, held up traffic by cycling en masse along Bow Road this afternoon. They looked to be on an anarchic safari around east London, were dressed mainly in black hoodies and seemed to have no particular regard for other road users. You could have tutted or you could have smiled, and there was nothing to be gained by doing the former.
Sun 21: I saw catkins in Deptford today, also yesterday on trees backing onto the railway in Richmond. Apparently it's not as utterly extraordinary as it seems. Mon 22: I had to buy something on Amazon today (not for me, not a gift and not arriving until after Christmas). I also had to input a new card number because the card I used for my last purchase expired in 2009. Tue 23: I've been particularly disappointed by the sponsored Christmas trees at King's Cross, Paddington and Waterloo this year. Less sparkling sincerity, more sell-out. Wed 24: That's the first time I've played (Settlers of) Catan, and I enjoyed it but obviously the person who'd played before won. Thu 25: On our Christmas journey home from Cromer we drove down Norfolk's shortest dual carriageway, 700m of parallel countrylanes between Scottow and Tunstead. It even starts with an official blue 'Dual carriageway ahead' sign. Fri 26: Things we watched on YouTube today: the biennial fair in the village my nephew might move to, Cracking the Cryptic, AI-generated carol slop, all the old John Lewis Christmas adverts.
Sat 27: For our delayed 'Christmas Day', presents included multiple hyacinths, a lot of golf balls, two new wooden letters for the mantlepiece, copious chocolate and Uno No Mercy. I received 6 bottles of Becks, 4 Toblerones and a Cute Kittens calendar 2026. Sun 28: The Guardian's festive jumbo crossword somehow ended up being published after Christmas with all the answers at the bottom of the page, which rather wrecked the experience. Still finished it though (with a post-it note stuck over the answer grid). Mon 29: Thank you for pointing out the spelling errors that have gone unchecked on this blog for 24 hours, 48 hours and 103 months respectively. Tue 30: Supermarket update: Price of a 300g pack of own brand chocolate digestives: last December 77p, February 85p, April 89p, August 99p, this week £1.10... which is a 43% annual increase! And I still bought them Wed 31: My thanks to the reader who pointed out that the Surrey Comet had used twoof my photographs in an online article titled Banstead Woods Surrey: The woodland with a Naria trail. I emailed to point out that my photos aren't licenced for commercial use. The editor's response included this highly unconvincing argument: "The grey area on these licences is whether you would classify a news website which is free to view as a direct commercial use". I said I would because of the advertising splashed everywhere, and they duly replaced both photos.
