I’ve had a lot to think about in the last few weeks. Some of these things I honestly never thought I’d see the time come, and mixed feelings and emotions, but I am good overall.

Firstly, pills. As I have mentioned several times before, I have to come off the Duphaston (Dydrogesterone), whether I like it or not, as it’s been discontinued by the manufacturer. So, I’ve started phasing myself off it gently, by cutting some of my remaining stock in half. I will hopefully try other things in time, but I want a clean break first. Lets see if this was really behind some of my feelings, or the Estradiol Valarate instead. I don’t expect to feel hugely different by stopping it in this way.

Secondly, feelings. Since this post, it’s been brought to my attention that Claire died in her sleep peacefully, after a heart attack. Now, no matter how many choice words had to say about me, I don’t think that she deserved to die, not right now, not far from her (45th I think) birthday.

Thirdly, new ventures. I never thought I’d say that the book was finished (see this post) but it is, and in the final stages of checking. I’d like to have it for sale by the end of the month, so keep watching! There are other projects in mind, and I’ve already had C suggesting a complimenting volume for down here… seriously!

Finally, despite the three things above, here is something I thought I’d never say. From the end of September (this Autumn), I’m going to be a student - for the first time since I left school (aside from the NVQ's I got about twelve years ago)! Full-time equivalent in open learning, and starting on a few Level 1 computing units. By the time I get my teeth into it, I can choose which of the qualifications I’d like to put that towards, and then go from there over the coming years.

Now, that will give me stability, something to work towards, and a pattern, as well as a bit more of an existence to my life. So, why this, why now? Well, health is a main thing, so this is flexible, as well as not requiring a daily commute! Caroline is supporting and encouraging me for the longer term, so I see this once again as good. The time frame being just over two months away, gives me time to finally continue with moving out of my current place in Dundee. Educational feelings from the past – well, I wanted to get out of school, move away, and become the person I knew I really was. Now, some things have not changed – I’ve done this. I’m settling in. I’ve got support, and friends on both sides of the border (and the Atlantic!). Now that is all out of the way, who knows?

The previously referred to interview didn’t go as planned, but I’ve managed to top that in fairly spectacular style, don’t you think?

So, what else? We had Caroline’s sister-in-law staying down with us on Thursday night, en route to a meditation weekend in deepest Suffolk. Yesterday I was out and about, will write about that later on.

Additionally, at the weekend, I used iTunes to purchase (the whole album, not just the single) Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson (a few of her songs have some wonderful lyrical meanings to me, as previously mentioned here), and some old school stuff too!

Remember I mentioned a while ago that the Duphaston I take is being discontinued? Well, I went to see the doc on Monday about a replacement, and he left me a prescription for something that made me depressed before i.e. Provera. So, I went back yesterday to ask about alternatives, and I will come to that again later. I am now also back on the Telfast (Fexofend-whatever) that I was on before (strong anti-histimine) as the over-the-counter ones from Tesco aren’t working anywhere near what I need, and wearing off already!

So, after we’d been to the doc yesterday, we went out for a drive around Essex, stopped at Great Dunmow for lunch at Musketeers – here’s Caroline…


We then continued to Braintree Freeport and met up with C’s friend Kim for coffee and some quick shopping (C’s has replaced the teapot with TWO new ones!) and then back to Royston.

Today, I’m going out soon to Skegness until Sunday, and on Monday I will probably be heading north, to see about a replacement for the pills. Keep watching!

… and, to be honest, I didn’t quite get the chance to post as I went about what we were getting up to. Not because of lack of bandwith, broadband or a laptop to do it on. No, every time I started typing, I attracted the attention of a very loving cat!

... we left Farnell at 1100, and got back a little while ago. Will write it all up over the coming days.

We drove north yesterday to Glasgow (meeting Bobby B for coffee at Buchanan Galleries) before traveling north to Arbroath Infirmary then onto Farnell. C's mother is ok, looks like she will be out next Monday. We're staying at C's brother's family home in Farnell.

We've just finished breakfast, and are about to drive north up the M6.

As Caroline mentioned in her previous diary updates, her mother was admitted to hospital while she was in Spain (initially Ninewells, now Arbroath Infirmary). Caroline wanted to visit her, as well as other family members. After working out costs, we’ve hired out a car – I initially may have said by texts that is a Vectra, well it’s a Vauxhall Corsa, petrol, manual, 57 plate, from 1car1.com at Newmarket Road Cambridge. Here is Caroline getting used to the controls in the car park of Roysia Surgery/Stearns Pharmacy while I went to pick up my repeat prescription…


… and then we drove via the A1/M1 (stopping at Trowel services), M62 (I asked to stop at Birch for the loo, but didn’t buy anything else), then M6, and see how far north we could get. Well, we’re staying the night at Westmorland Hotel (aka Tebay)… here’s Caroline checking out the Kendal Mint Cake that she found on the table when we got here…


She’s just left the bath, so I’ll leave the (complimentary, btw!) wi-fi for now, and go see her.

I will get round to doing the diary entry for the last few days soon - in the meantime, my photo skip has been updated.

A twist in the plan means I'm going back to Royston tomorrow by coach from Dundee. The plans for the weekend changed when C's sister-in-law took ill, and as a result, C isn't coming up, I'm going back down... and things now fit into place.

Thanks to everyone for everything so far!  

Yesterday was a rather fun day, despite the soaring heat in Cambridge (no I’m not being sarcastic!) incurred on the way to work yesterday morning. We were all surprised, as it didn’t seem like three weeks since I was there last, but it had been! Mornings are busier than afternoons, and this was no different!

After leaving Milton, back to Cambridge, but off the bus at Chesterton Lane, and around to Shire Hall to pick up some timetables that I had left for me to uplift. After that, citi5 back to town, then changed to a citi1 for the next part of the trip. As a few of the passengers from the back got off, one of them asked ‘have I seen you on tv?’ Nope, not me… not unless that old cctv footage of me running into the newly-installed automatic doors at Dundee bus station early one morning has made it onto YouTube… but seriously, while questioning is a lot more rare down here, they are usually a bit more refined than some of the more cruder things that I’ve heard in my lifetime.

Anyway, popped in to see auntysarah, and as ever, she beat me to posting the story of our meet to her journal. We spent half an hour or so around the back, in the warm, with the sun reflecting off the fishpond. It was a very civilised way to spend half an hour, just moments away from the hustle and bustle of Hills Road, Mill Road, and Cambridge Railway Station.

So, after that, went for the 1640 26 bus back to Royston, which comes down Hills Road for the college users, so a very easy walk around the corner. Got home, C got in just seconds after I did, and I then had a further kitchen experiment with some noodles and sweet chilli sauce.

The highlight of today so far, I’ve cooked mozzarella cheeseburgers (yes I cans has!), and a further stir-fry, this time self-cook Chow Mein. Also, another soft toy has arrived, it’s a pink stress ball shaped like a pig, a reward from Pigsback – I might save up for the cuddly one, but that will take a while more, as most of the 200 points needed came from a signing-up reward.

So, we are having a quiet day now, but getting a delivery of groceries this evening, and may be out tomorrow. Monday and Tuesday I am not planning on doing too much, but Tuesday night, I am travelling up north to spend a few days in and around Dundee. Caroline is going to be driving up north Friday into Saturday, and we will meet somehow on Saturday, as we’re going to a double birthday party (C’s side of the family) on Saturday in Angus. Sunday – well, I’ve left aside a trip I’ve organised for the Anglia Bus Forum, along with a few other offers, so we can travel south in the hired car, and I may well take some more of the stuff down from my flat in Dundee, things I could not manage in a bus or train. Might get the chance to pop into Lathalmond on the way down, who knows - we'll see how things go on the day.

Longer term, June C will be away most of the time, so I will be doing some work around moving out of my flat in Dundee – I plan to leave at some stage of July. This is likely to be intermixed with days here and there too, as times change. In July and August, I would like to do a bit more work on top of what I’ve been doing recently, and ramp things up gradually once more. We’d then hope C would have a date for her surgery, and we are looking at early-mid autumn for that. After that, and once C is back in Royston recovering, I’d hope that my mind and body will both be ready for more regular hours and work, but we shall see. This has been said, assuming nothing else changes, ha ha!

(Me on TV? Well, there are some times I feel like someone (Beadle’s replacement) is going to pop out of a bush and say ‘You thought you’d came here to do xxxx,’ LOL)

It’s a wonderful day here in Royston – if a little windy. I forgot to mention yesterday that I was able to get my prescription for the 10mg Citalopram, and started off them last night.

I also forgot to mention (given that I was shattered on the day in question) that 30th April was our 13 month anniversary, and C had to point it out to me that evening. I still count these things, but once it’s over a year, the time seems to fly by even faster.

I’ve been thinking quite a bit over the last day and a bit. It’s kind of like a repeat of how things were in 2001-2 in my life now. Then, I finished a job I’d enjoyed (aside from the management), ended up in hospital, got suicidal, new year, anti-depressants, spring and summer has some good times and some bad times. Then, in the autumn, things got really good really quickly, and I was able to build on stability in preparing to transition (which then happened in 2004). This time around, it’s almost the same, except I wasn’t suicidal. The hospital visit (this time) was very much pre-planned, and there was a positive outcome to it (rather than me getting out worse because no reason for it was found, so blame it on stress etc.) So where am I going with this? It’s because while things at the moment include some things that have to be done (i.e. moving out of my flat in Dundee, C losing weight, surgery and the rest), the really good times will (hopefully!) be coming later in the year. I can wait, calm and try and avoid stressing too much over the coming weeks. We’ve got a fair bit planned for this month, and we shall see how things pan out.

There is also my new location. Having been around the area for a bit now, it’s a large kind of step change, a bit like when I moved to London in 1999. Lots of new people and friends to see, lots of new shops, new areas and places to discover. As regular readers know, I’d like stability in my life, but I also like to do what I can, while I can. Regulars also know that I don’t just sugar-coat problems, or pretend that they do not exist, but I am genuinely happy with life at the moment. OK I’m tired or upset on occasions, and that isn’t going to pull me down too much. I want to enjoy the good times too. While they come intermittently at the moment, I am confident that I can build on things over the coming weeks and months, really settle down with C, support the conclusion of her transition, and then be there together for whatever next year throws at us. Things will straighten out, and I am looking forward to it already.

From Tuesday night till Thursday night, I did a 51-hours trip to/from Dundee, and had a blast!

Will post more about it shortly, I've whacked my left hand on the door handle and don't feel like a long type!   

An idea from elaine4queen and other friends…


1. Was 2007 a good year for you?
It started bad, very bad… but gradually improved, like a slope up. Big jumps every quarter – like end March/early April, mid July, and mid-late October too.

2. What was your favourite moment of the year?
Falling in love with C, surgery, starting new work, and more besides. Those were the first handful.

3. What was your least favourite moment of the year?
Losing one aunt and some friends (and some friends-of-friends). Leaving without saying goodbye to a few, but that was out of my hands. Being set up a few times. Being lied to by others. Being let down by others. Those are almost all of them – it got a lot more positive towards the end of the year.

4. What are your plans for 2008?
Moving out of my flat in Dundee, helping Caroline through diet and surgery, and seeing how much I can do (whilst I still can).

5. What countries did you visit?
England, Scotland, Berwick

6. What date/s in 2007 will remain etched in your memory?
31st March – the day that a lot happened, but falling in love with C was the best bit. 16th October – the day I had my surgery. Those are but two.

7. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Coming off the antispasmodics (Oxybutynin) that I’d been taking on-and-off for six years – even if it was only accidentally coming off them in the first place. I started on anti-depressants, but got off them again without major problems (this time). On a more personal basis, lots of new places travelled to for the first time – Royston, St Albans, Hemel Hempstead, Chelmsford, Cambridge, Saffron Walden, Newmarket, Milton (Cambs), Epping, Chatteris, Ely, Peterborough, the list goes on. The mileage chart for 2007 would be quite a sight.

8. What was your biggest failure?
I initially thought I was the failure at the beginning. Glad I managed to see things in the right light soon enough.

9. Did you suffer any illness or injury?
Depression outed itself (not for the first time), but seemed to be controlled.
Only one visit to A&E, and that was to correct an ear piercing (another first for 2007!) that had gone wrong!

10. What was the best thing you bought?
Cambridgeshire Street Atlas!
The mobile phone I got in March was also well used, C said she’s had well over a thousand texts from me!

11. Who's behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
There were a few, but mostly in the first half of the year, and I’m well over it.

12. Where did most of your money go?
Travelling, although I made a huge number of savings with promotional fares. I was travelling up to once a week between Dundee and Royston, and back again.

13. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Discovering all the new places, and travelling around Herts, Essex & Cambridgeshire.

14. What songs will always remind you of 2007?
‘You can stand under my umbrella… ella… ella.. hey hey hey…”
Did the rain ever seem to stop in the summer?
Not the hottest, but enjoyable in other ways! (see above)

15. Compared to this time last year are you:
a) Fatter or thinner? I look the same, but I am down about a stone
b) Happier or sadder? Happier, even though I don’t look it
c) Richer or poorer? About the same, but a lot of the pressure is off!

16. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Smiling. I was often happy inside, but unable to smile for various reasons. I was happy at some critical times, which really helped.

17. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Being negative (also see 16).

18. How will you be spending Christmas?
With my partner, and some close friends – same for NYE.

19. Which LJ users did you meet for the first time?
The list expanded from three at the start of the year, to nineteen at the end. That’s the way things went in 2007 – those who said they didn’t see me so much in 2006, saw less of me in 2007!

20. Did you fall in love in 2007?
Indeed I did, and we’re still together.

21. How many one night stands?
None, unless you count coach seats.
No, stop it!

22. What was your favourite TV show?
Ended up watching less of TV – even less than 2006, if that was possible. I did get an all-new appreciation of sci-fi, and we’ve watched most series of Stargate-SG1 at least once each.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
I dislike some, but I wouldn’t say I *hate* people. Vindictiveness isn’t really my thing.

24. What was/were the best books you read?
I read a bit more than usual.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
TIP seemed to always be on my MP3 player! I’m not really into thrash, but…

26. What did you want and get?
Gender reassignment surgery and Gender Recognition Certificate.

27. What did you want and not get?
Some places where I travelled in 2006, I’d have loved to go back again. As I said above, this was balanced by lots of travel around new areas.

28. What was your favourite film this year?
I did see a lot more than I’d seen before.

29. What did you do on your birthday and how old were you?
I was 28, that’s the easy bit. Spent most of it indoors, and had my head exploding.

30. What one thing would have made your year more satisfying?
Not starting so low at the beginning of the year.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?
Also on a slightly upward curve too!

32. What kept you sane?
C, defiantly!

33. Which celebrity did you fancy the most?
None really.

34. Which political issue stirred you the most?
The realisation that politics is going far too far into our lives.

35. Who did you miss?
Those who saw less of me (or didn’t see me at all) in 2007, were all still in my thoughts.

36. Did you treat somebody badly in 2007?
No, and not that I meant to.

37. Did somebody treat you badly in 2007?
A few, but like I said, I’m over it.

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned this year?
Anyone can turn their life around.

39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year...
“Sometimes you can’t make it on your own…”

On a normal weekday, Caroline’s phone goes off at 0700 hours. I don’t usually hear it, but she is up by this time, or shortly afterwards, and I usually wake about an hour later (for some reason). Today, I was first up at 0730! So, after tea (for C) coffee (for me) and Florentines (those little chocs with fruit and nuts) for an early breakfast, before we started opening our presents!

Caroline's gifts from me included a graphics tablet (this was what I obtained from Morgan a little while ago!), a health grill (from Tesco), and the DVD of the movie Ratatouille, which we both enjoyed when we saw it at the cinema (but it’s not yet on DVD in the UK, so I imported the American edition via CDwow). Caroline also admitted she'd never heard of Ellen DeGeneres (I think it was something about how she looked like the woman who plays Carter in SG1) some time ago, so a copy of Ellen – In The Beginning (the live one) was also given!

I also got Caroline one bar of Green & Blacks Organic 70% Dark Choc (when we were in Tesco the other night, C couldn’t get any of this, as it was ‘out of stock’ – yes, I’d stashed it all!), as well as a Dove ‘Beauty Secrets’ gift set, the ‘Snow Showers’ box set from Lush, and some more underwear that she'd asked me to get for her from M&S - which is why I was walking around their Cambridge store last Wednesday with a pair of her knickers in my bag... well, I don't normally do that!

So, what did I get? Well, the gifts from the family in Dundee were a welcome surprise. Two model buses (one of which this is this one), and a bear from 'The Teddy Bear Collection' called Bruno the Blacksmith. There was also a cookie tin, shaped like a bus.

Caroline and I picked out some clothing on Sunday at the retail park, and this included a new pair of boots (well, there were two as we both liked the same ones), two long skirts, and a new bag, which is red tartan, but mostly black (that’s why C thought it would stick out!) I also got the previously-mentioned long jacket, and also, a gift from a certain store in Hoxton… and yes, it’s good ;-) Certainly good for starting out with, comfortable, not too big, and… yes, it was the right thing.

After we’d finished opening the gifts, C got up to start cleaning and preparing dinner. Jayne & Jim arrived shortly after 1pm, and C had dinner worked out. The phone rang a few times, from many friends, and both families.

There is so much more detail that I could go into, but to put it so simply, it was just such a wonderful day. We finished it by reminding each other how grateful we were! We got through it!

Today, Caroline has found a suitable Mac OS driver for the graphics tablet, and has been giving it a spin with the Powerbook.

Well, that went so swimmingly well, I will blog all about it later on.

Many thanks to everyone who sent us kind wishes over the festive period - especially from a good percentage of the 200-odd members of the new ABF - it's all good, and it was all very touchingly appreciated!

1. … and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even my mouse… as C has gone back to bed after an early start.

2. I said I would try and think of another ten point post today. Firstly, reading today’s online Courier, it seems that we weren’t the only ones going for gifts yesterday, as Dundee United gave Gretna three points, and their first away win of the season. See, that’s why I don’t truly understand football/soccer. All I know is that DUFC play in a similar colour of orange to that of the mighty Berwick Rangers… or, do they?

3. London Underground is running the customary Saturday service today, but they are wrapping it up with last trains at Sunday times, as opposed to Saturdays, meaning (as an example) the last Piccadilly Line towards Southgate & Cockfosters will be 0023 from Kings Cross, not 0042. The Piccadilly Line does have the extra-late Sunday train to serve Heathrow Airport, so another example is the Jubilee Line towards Canning Town & Stratford – last train on a Monday-Saturday from Green Park is 0045, but tonight (and on Sundays) it is 2359. I just noticed that!

4. Other examples of integration in practice is the closure of Liverpool Street station from yesterday (23 December) to 1 January, to facilitate work on the East London Line extension/conversion. During this time, trains on the ‘one’ network will terminate at Tottenham Hale or Seven Sisters. Passengers then tip onto the Victoria Line, which is itself being partly bus replaced (trains not stopping at Victoria for building work). Some passengers from the north can transfer at Cambridge onto the First Capital Connect services via Royston, but those will be subject to disruption with building works around Stevenage. Tickets will also be accepted on First Capital Connect’s Thameslink line, but the planned bus service from Sandy to Bedford (to allow passengers to do this) is now not going to be running. So, you will get there, somehow.

5. Hertfordshire buses are Saturday or normal service today, nothing tomorrow 25th (except a Sunday service on the 510 for Stansted), only TfL services, some NatEx, and a handful of free buses in Watford on boxing day, Saturday style services during the week, Sunday service on New Years Day, and back to normal from Wednesday 2nd. Cambridgeshire is broadly similar, but only some NatEx on boxing day, nothing else – aside from a two-hourly X5 to Oxford, which is charging a premium fare (£9 local, £14 to Oxford, single or return). Slightly out-of-area, but the Oxford Tube service is running on Christmas Day, with a special hourly ‘via Heathrow’ service. Special premium single fares apply, at £25 per person. Yes, that’s right. Tube weekly passes etc. are to be accepted, which means a seven-day Tube Pass (unlimited travel across Oxfordshire, and on the Oxford Tube Oxford-London express) is the same price as a same-day return on Christmas Day!

6. Speaking of Cambridge, of course we were out shopping yesterday at the retail park off Newmarket Road. Starbucks were serving everything in paper cups and bags, because the dishwasher had packed up! Actually, this met with customer approval, being a cold day, as it meant you could take your drinks back to the car! You can ask them to do this at other times too, you know… can you? Must be able to do it. Anyway, they were red and white seasonal ones, and had this website mentioned on the bottom – do go see!

7. The January 2008 Royston area bus services changes booklet can now be found online – download it as a PDF here.

8. I notice thebustocrookes mentioned that him and his C also had two trolleys for their trip around Tesco the other night… but never quite filled them. We never had that problem, no, we still had stuff in the trolleys to go on the conveyor belt, and it was full, and we had nowhere to put the full bags (yet), so we put it into one trolley and continued!

9. From The Ticket Collector, Virgin Trains now have some £1-£9 singles from London to Manchester as part of the ‘digitix’ experiment – have a look here.

10. An interesting one to round off the set. Someone who I’d not spoke to before called Megan found my profile on Bebo, and sent a positive message to me. “…i dont even know how i came across u on bebo but i find ur story very interesting. i think ur great for telling ur story…”, which was nice enough. But get this, she’s from the Shetland isles, and lives about 30 minutes from Lerwick, where my dad grew up. Small world, right enough. OMG.

10X. Right, that’s it for the points, I’m away to see if I can awake Caroline… I will try and keep the blog up-to-date over the coming days, but no promises! Have a good time, and we will defiantly be thinking of you lot!

Around an hour ago, I had my  mother on the phone to tell me she'd just been advised that my aunt Margaret had finally passed away. around 2300 hours last night (10th December), without pain. I somehow knew she'd make it through the day - I don't know why, but the thought just stuck with me, and she almost did.

Thanks to everyone for all your kind words of support, from several different countries, over the last few days.

Following the last two posts, my mother called this evening. She's been at the home almost the whole day. My aunt didn't die in the night, but she continues, for another few hours. She's not able to eat/drink, so it's not going to be for very much longer.

Thanks to lips_of_tragedy, thermalsatsuma, jessie_c, thebustocrookes, nicollegurrl, and angharads_house for your kind words and comments on my last post.

I've been trying to get hold of more information, but I've not heard yet. Either my mum has been in bed all day, or (more likely) she is up and out at the moment.

I do have plans for every day this week up to Thursday, then Saturday, next Tuesday and Wednesday. That could be subject to change at any time.

Thanks to Caroline for all the hugs last night though - they were needed!

xxx
Suzy

After an early start, I had done the first proof of our Christmas Card for this year, before the two of us sat down to dinner. Half way through one of C's selected episodes of Stargate-SG1, I could hear my mobile phone ringing through in the study. Caller ID shows up as Mum's landline, and I picked up. Her first words were that she'd had a call from the (nursing) home last night, my dad is fine. This was more about my aunt, who (at the age of 80) appears to have contracted pneumonia, and may not make it through the night (tonight).

She's been at the nursing home for well over three and a half years, but when she was younger she worked at British Rail Dundee station in the catering. IIRC she retired in 1984, and subsequently took myself, my brother etc. on a number of days out by train... similar to how my gran did by bus. As you may remember, my gran died back in 2002 (aged 79), I think she picked up something similar around the end, but not sure.

Anyway, at the moment, the next call I get from my mother may well be to say it's all over, whenever. I'd hope she could hang on, but she can't live forever. I saw her in August when I visited my dad, and she was mostly asleep and not with it. She's still family, and there are still some memories. You can't escape from the past.

I am not at work today after all, as Caroline is feeling rather poorly today. Her temperature is a lot hotter than usual, so she is in bed. She felt really tired last night, and didn't respond after a short nap and tea, which would normally be enough to revive her for a bit longer. Anyway, I can't leave her in that state. She's had a few hours sleep, so I am typing this next door in the study, as quietly as I can!

Christmas Cards have already started coming in - all in one go today, it must be said! One 'to you both' from my parents, which was a surprise. Not sure if it was a surprise because they sent it, or because it wasn't a religious Christmas card. Still, grateful all the same, and that would explain what my sister meant yesterday.

I've got some other things to talk about here too, in time, but they'll need to wait for now.


p.s. Just as soon as I finished typing that, another post van has just brought a large shoebox size box in, from my parents, with 'NO PEEKING UNTIL 25TH' written on it... maybe that's what my sister meant, not the card...

Yesterday was spent traveling a little short of twenty miles (per trip) from Royston to Milton via Cambridge, for the first full day back on the Helpline. I had stopped by last week on the way to another Ormiston project at Highpoint, but this was the first real half-day, on the phones.

A little over four hours later, it was all over, and I was feeling like I'd never been away. After stopping briefly in Ely, I returned back to Cambridge, and onto Royston on the last 26 of the night. Caroline met me at the end of the road at about 1930, and we went to the chip shop, for the first time in a while.

Today, just a quiet day in, but I am out again tomorrow at work (covering an unexpected gap in the rota for a few hours).

Other stuff...

My sister was on the phone earlier... "is it the 1A or the 1B that goes to Faraday Street...?" (well that was a surprise, or was it?) Anyway, she's updated me on her recent developments, and her new job[s] and stuff, and asked if I'd had something from her yet. No.... not yet.

Oh, and I got a freebie £4 voucher from TfL following the problems on the Jub and Central Lines during the Sunday of our weekend to London. Speaking of them, the Emma Clarke thing has gone international... and a voice artist in SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA has done some spoofs for their transport system. Straight and to the point, generally. Speaking of which, an extract from a quote from a media person...

' ...“What perhaps they should have done is contact Emma (they’ve still not done that, amazingly, preferring to talk through the media it seems) and say: “quite like some of these, don’t like these two, any chance you can take them down and swap them for something a bit less ‘out there’?” – and, if they were brave enough, commission a few spoof ones to be played at Christmas (“if anyone sees a reindeer on the track, please inform a member of staff immediately”) and on other holidays..."

REINDEER? LMAO... I remember having to do a PA over a train being held in the tunnel with no lights, because of a coat hanger on the track... which we had to get a station supervisor to remove, hence the delay.

Also, looks as if Richmond's Service 23 (see this post) at least is to stay on a more restricted basis, but with some bits added to replace the 22. The updated list of changes and cuts, as well as full details of Christmas & New Year services across Hertfordshire, can be found in Intachange 49, of which paper copies should be ready soon.

If that weren't enough for you, create your own Daily Mail/Express headline with this juicy FTW find, thanks to thebustocrookes ...

Friday was a fairly busy day at home, and then we went out. It was the end of a very interesting seven days - on top of it being St Andrew's Suzy's Day*, it was a weird co-incidence that C had mentioned to Jayne at a previous visit, that she'd never saw Trainspotting. So, for this evening's visit to the north side of Cambridge, Jayne had already ordered the movie in! Suffice to say, Caroline probably doesn't need to see it again, now. Yes, she saw both trains in the movie. I remembered a couple of the lines from the movie that I use myself now and then, but I had forgotten some more were also from the same movie!

On the way home, as we passed over Kings Hedges on the A14, I started counting back the days. Yes, it's St Andrew's Day, but Friday was also... the last day of the month... meaning, we've been together for eight months now! OK, that night at the end of March, it wasn't raining... but even lashing wind and rain couldn't dampen our spirits. I, once again, used the last hour and a bit of the night to remind her of my feelings... as if it needed to be done. We stopped at Tesco on the way home, and made it home shortly before midnight... and to bed a bit later.

Saturday morning, and the weather was the same, for the first day of December. In the post this morning, I received a DVD box set that I had purchased for C (as an early Christmas gift, as well as part of the 'reward' from last weekend!), and also a card from my mother... it was a 'thank you' card, from her and my sister, for the birthday cards I'd sent them... which was nice, and unexpected.

So, we've made it through the week, and we're now relaxing... chilling... in more ways than one!




* For the benefit of anyone who didn't know me before 09/04/04, please put two and two together!