The Joys of Commuting

Shoulder barging, elbow digging, someone sitting over your side of the seat
Wide newspaper reading, super loud music listening, someone with something very smelly to eat

Rain blows across the platform, soggy umbrellas knock legs, sodden clothes and damp feet
Damp smells fill the carriage, your hair now windswept and wet, where it had been so neat

Treading on toes, knocking bags, rushing to get that seat first
People don’t move down the carriage or across the seats, lack of manners just gets worse

Tannoys announce more delays, service disruptions and cancellations
Trains stop on the tracks, making you late, everyone letting work know in phone conversations

People blocking station entrances, walking super slow along the platform, generally getting in the way
Trying to make that fast train, people bang into you, no apology or checking you’re okay

Huge sighs go out as the driver reveals passengers have set off the alarm, you stop on the track
People leaning into you more and more, it’s not a post to lean on, it’s my back!

Summertime, super sweaty trains, clammy skin touching yours, awful smells whatever the time of day
People feeling faint, the heat is so strong, people push on already-packed trains anyway

Coming home late at night with drunk people, fast food odours and rowdy crowds
Falling asleep, trying not to miss the stop, others shouting and singing so loud

Pleased to make the earlier train and looking forward to getting home early
Then you wait ridiculous amounts of time for a bus and end up later than you are usually

Businessmen selfish with their space and huge papers, workmen covered in dust and paint splattered overalls
Elderly people struggle to balance, pregnant women having to stand, no offers of seats or help at all

A new year approaches and brings with it news of an increase in travel fares
Nobody can understand it, no improvements evident anywhere

Settling down to read your book in peace, you’re joined by oddballs who won’t leave you alone
Nobody ever smiles at one another, all straight-faced or playing on their phone

Distracted Mums ignore the noise as their children scream and shriek
Earphones blare out too loud music and non-muted phones make noisy bleeps

Embarrassed to be seen by those you know, you become so moody on these journeys
Knowing exactly your spot to stand at and being sneaky to nab that seat in front of somebody

Then there’s that day you catch eyes with someone across from you and see a friendly smile
Something funny happens in the carriage and you end up speaking for a while

Someone lets you on in front or helps someone in need near to them
But that’s the odd day and then the moods and rudeness continue all over again

Cath Kidston, croissants and Luton

Today is Saturday and day six of my healthy eating/exercise plan. Today is also going to be a 'cheat day', where I won't be doing any exercise or watching what I eat (within reason).

I'll be honest earlier in the week this worried me, I can quite easily get out of the healthy mindset once I start eating 'badly' and this year I'm keen to shed some pounds so want to exercise as much as I can.

However when my alarm went off at silly o'clock this morning I ached so much from the past five day's worth of exercise I am glad of the break. I literally feel like my body has been kicked and beaten - my abs ache when I sit up, my arms ache pretty much constantly and my legs ache, well, every time I walk!

So sitting here on the Met Line (before 9am on a Saturday, mad!) I am rather glad to be taking a break. I'm also quite pleased as although I know it's a free day I'm not wanting to pig out and eat non stop. I've got two croissants with me (not very healthy I know) and I'm going to get a coffee at the station. I know what I've got for dinner - bride-to-be's Mum is very kindly cooking me a meal later and although comfort food it's not the most fattening of meals you can have.

I've now progressed to an East Midlands train, in fact we've just left the station to make our way to Luton. I've been blogging whilst making my way from home to London.

At the station I found myself faced with another of my issues - shopping. I LOVE it. The fun kind that is, when you buy clothes, not when you find yourself standing in a long queue waiting for the checkout girl to find out the price of the woman in front's pack of frozen peas. As I walked along the station trying to ascertain what platform my train was on I noticed Cath Kidston, not just any Cath Kidston shop, but one with big red SALE signs in it.

Thankfully I still needed to get my coffee so I managed to just about walk away, but not before I checked what time they're open until tonight for my journey home. The hope is I'll be really tired later so won't want to shop in Cath Kidston at 830/9 at night, we'll see...

I've always had a thing for shopping since a young age, I seem to have got this habit from my Aunt. When I lived at home I was worse because I didn't have bills to pay, it's just that buzz from bagging a bargain and carrying all those bags after a successful shopping trip.

Hm maybe that's why I've never ventured into drugs, my drugs are wine, chocolate and shopping I think!! That's where I get my buzz.

Thankfully when I had to save up to buy my flat it seemed to flick some sort of switch and I've never been so bad as I used to be at spending and having numerous storecards. Although as I had time off between Christmas and New Years, I did spend two solid days sales shopping and spent more than enough.

Thankfully, with my income, I have a keen eye for a bargain and am not a designer freak so at least I do buy cheap things. Although of course the amount I buy can actually counteract that defence.

I need to go now, it's time to take my blogging hat off and go be the best Maid of Honour I can be. I just hope my friend doesn't kill me once she sees how much weight I've put on...thank goodness this isn't the final fitting!

Transport tantrum

I wasn't going to blog this morning, particularly not to complain. But as I find myself standing on yet another full train and without a seat, after already having let one train go, I was more than persuaded.

Why is it our transport service remains to be so bad and other countries - not all I appreciate - are able to create better options for their inhabitants? Constantly you hear people complaining about their journey, how the bus didn't turn up, the train had major delays or never has a seat. Yet at the same time each year you hear of increasing fees. How does that work? If you went to a restaurant that never had your table ready on time, or a bar that always served warm beer when it was Summer, what would happen? You'd stop going there and using their services right? Not so with public transport, we rely on it. On your commute to work you don't really have much option to get to your job in any other way. Clearly, I am speaking here as somebody who works in London, but I am sure most of us are in this position.

In particular, the bus route that served where I lived when at home had to get me to school, college, local jobs and then to the station to get to London. The majority of the time it was late or a bus was just cut out at random. I know people have complained and it is notorious for being a bad service, yet nothing changes. I know it is just as bad/worse as I stupidly bought a property on the same route! It is the 252, just to warn you if you come to Hornchurch at any point.

Similarly the District Line and Jubilee who terminate trains early on the route constantly during rush hour. What sense is there in that. Since starting my job I have been travelling on National Rail, the time the trains get into Liverpool Street has varied considerably since August. I expected it to be busier/slow down when the school holidays finished, but it has continued to take longer ever since. Why? My bus in the morning can turn up anywhere between 750 and 805...helpful. The 'timetable' of our bus doesn't even have set times now, just 'every 10-12minutes', so just turn up when you like really...

When I worked in Canary Wharf, the journey time went from 45 minutes to 1 hour 10 by the time I left. I thought the underground service was improving? And don't get me started on weekend work.

To be fair to TfL, I had problems with buses in Colchester when I was a student, getting home from my weekend job at Sainsbury's was a game of chance as to when I'd get home.

Yet we still all pay and use the service because we have to. The transport companies don't need to change, they have us trapped. So as I escape from my packed-like-a-tin-of-sardines carriage I will finish my rant and look forward to getting a seat on a late train home tonight, albeit likely to be along with someone stinking out the train with greasy food or being ill. Oh well at least I'll get a seat