If you have been reading “Life and Times” for some time, you may be aware that I also write in a notebook that I carry with me - a trusty “Moleskine”. Without much time to marshal my thoughts today, I thought it might be interesting for passing readers to see a few excerts from it’s pages.
Monday 10th September
Sat on the station bench at Maidenhead, and my mind is full of memories - of making this journey last winter, hunched on this bench expelling clouds of steam from my nostrils. What a difference this afternoon finds - a yellow disc hangs low in the sky and lights the approaching railway lines, making it difficult to peer towards sounds of approaching engines.
Tuesday 11th September - 8:18am
Running late for work. Forgot my laptop bag, and only realised within spitting distance of the station. An hour later I am sitting on a strange train, looking at strange people. Foreign faces. The two children sat opposite are talking in excited tones about a retro computer game they have discovered - it is their secret - it is called “Quake”. If only they knew.
Tuesday 11th September - 10:36am
At 8:37 the train speakers informed us in garbled tones that some kind of strike had occurred, and we would not be moving for at least half an hour. The pretty girl sat opposite in Chanel sunglasses displayed a far better sense of hearing and reported to me that a car had hit a bridge somewhere further up the line. A “bridge strike”. Just to add to the hilarity, we are now stuck at Maidenhead, after the train we were on was cancelled out from under us. I’m eyeing up the coffee for sale on the platform.
Tuesday 11th September - 5:47pm
The commuting havoc of the morning seems determined to continue into the evening. Arriving at Paddington, there was no sign of the usual trains awaiting their passengers - just the word “delayed” on the noticeboards. Instead of staring at the platform, praying, or cussing as many others seemed to be doing, I bought posh cookies. I waited in line behind a fat Italian lady who did not understand the concept of foreign currency.
Observation of the day - a change in a great many people seems to occur when enough people are concentrated into a confined area. Kind, considerate, thoughtful people become mean, inconsiderate and thoughtless. Some even have weapons. Invisible rucksacks. Those damn trolley suitcase things that people drag behind them.
Wednesday 12th September
Apparently the average Starbucks customer visits one of their coffee shops 18 times a month. I however, am sitting in Coffee Republic. I must be the enemy. Wasting time in cafe’s is surprisingly easy.