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Wednesday 3^rd February – was a good day until I broke C's glass teapot. The problem was I was putting it down onto the worktop, and inadvertently whacked it into the side of the cooker top. She was on the phone at the time watching, so I couldn't really hide it!

Thursday 4^th February – with my BABUS hat on, I was up early for a meeting into Bedford Borough Council's Local Transport Plan 3. A good first step in the compilation of the draft, and BCC were genuinely happy that we had a good turnout of people there. It was also good to put faces to names, even if I didn't get a chance to talk to everyone. So, that went well, except for one thing – my new boots tripped me up several times on the wet outside! My new boots did not have much grip on them, so I ended up slipping several times! (Since then I've got a rather large bruise under the knee, cuts and swelling to hands and fingers, as well as a sore arm and leg!) Travelled by train to Hitchin, Centrebus 80 to Hitchin town centre, Stagecoach in Bedford Mars Service M2 to Bedford (the last time I did the other route, the M1. This is where the “life on mars” quote for Facebook came from!) On the way home, M1 to Hitchin, then as I had plenty time to make my next train, as well as an Intalink Explorer ticket (10p more than a return from Hitchin to Bedford, plus it included the bus between train and bus), I stayed on the 94 through Hitchin Station to Letchworth, where I picked up my train journey to continue back to Royston.

Earlier in the week, I had a request from the editor of one of the local Archant papers, The Wisbech Standard, asking about the forthcoming bus service changes. Apparently they had seen my blog re the forthcoming Fens bus service changes (post 1 and post 2). Initally they wanted to quote from my blog, and I spoke to them on the phone, careful to stick to the facts. (I don't normally approach media in relation to transport, but they approached me!) This main article (not my photos) discusses the changes, with quotes from my posts on the forthcoming Fens service changes. Also interesting was their editorial bit (not my work either) which was highly critical – and I quote from one snippet, “This newspaper was only alerted to changes by a reader, and our investigations into the affect of the changes proposed by Stagecoach led us on a circuitous route and only thanks to a veteran bus 'blogger' did we finally access the information we needed.” So, if you wonder why I'm popular in Wisbech, now you know! It was interesting to spot even Stagecoach management saying they can see why people would be confused by the website...

Friday 5^th February – out to work on Helpline in the morning, but then back home, as I was a bit tired (and sore!) from the previous day!

Saturday 6^th February – out to Beefeater at Coreys Mill (Stevenage) for a change. We went to Sainsbury's over the road afterwards, but Caroline was unusually tired. She had a nap for a few hours once we got home. As well as food, C got a new (cheap) white teapot, and I picked up a few new T-shirts, and trousers and jeans - still to try those on!

Sunday 7^th February – having a quiet day. Caroline has tried her new teapot that we got in Sainsbury's – just a cheap one, but it pours better than the glass one!

 

I have uploaded some pictures from Thursday and Friday, and you can see them via the links shown.

This cartoon by Steve Bell comes from today's Guardian, found via Anglia Bus Forum...

In this post, I mentioned STV had reused one of my images. Well, I've now had word back from the media company...

Hello

I was forwarded your email regarding the use of your bus picture of our website, thanks for drawing our attention to the matter.

I did not realise that the picture had been taken from another site, as normally we only use our own material. I have had a word with the person responsible, and made clear that we should not do this again, and deleted the image from our picture archive, so it will not be used again in the future.

Thanks again for taking the time to contact us.

Found via Facebook three weeks ago, but never posted here until now, is Lizzie The Lezzy...

It’s been a busy last week and a bit, since my last post. C has been unwell for the last few days, in the meantime I’ve been getting on with web and dead-tree stuff, TMA02 for T175 (my CMA41 for T175 got me 92%!), a visit with work to Cambridge Crown Court yesterday, and preparing to go away for a couple of days (two friends & I) tomorrow.

But, it was a headline that I spotted yesterday while out in Cambridge, that caught my eye - Bailiffs grab wrong home after blunder. Yes, this is something that the Scottish equivalent (sheriff officers) did to me about eight months back, remember? Except this time, it wasn’t the wrong number, but the wrong road!

So, in the meantime, hello to all the newbies who’ve started reading, or made contact for the first time, of late. Yes, this is our 25th month anniversary, but we’ve put that off till Monday (it’s a bank holiday in this part of the world), and having a day out then too.

It’s been a busy week, dear reader. If you think I’ve been haring about up and down the A14, well, not yet. There will be time to try out the new high specification (it says here) buses on the 15/45/55. Seeing everyone else’s pictures, hopefully they will turn out to be better (or just as good) in the flesh! I’ve already seen several posts via Facebook “trying the WiFi on the 55”… well, it happened when it was new on the X5, Edinburgh routes, 900, etc. so why not!

You see, I’ve very busy this week, working on the 2009 edition of the Dundee Area Bus Fleetbook – the printed list of stuff for the Dundee Area Bus Forum coverage area. It’s going to be almost 50% bigger than last year, as I’ve included a lot of stuff that was asked for. The price has to go up, but not by 50% - jus enough to cover costs, and leave a little towards paying for the Forums for a few months. It doesn’t make me rich, and it is as much a reference for me, as everyone else! It’s almost ready to upload to Lulu, then get one printed off to check, before opening them for sale to the public in the next few weeks.

I’ve got Uni stuff to return to, and two more assessments before the end of this month, before I start dusting off the picture submissions for an Anglia Bus Fleetbook – new for 2009, but already going to be much bigger than everything else!

Speaking of things to do, I was approached a few weeks ago about looking after a website and a forum board, for a group. Going to their committee meetings tomorrow, and if all that is sealed, then I should be able to talk about it. I did notice that their website hadn’t been updated for some time… but they asked, I didn’t even have the chance to offer. Apparently the guy had heard of the work I did on the Anglia Bus Forum, and was rather happy with the way I operate it.

I’m getting a reputation – and a good one! It’s not going to make me rich, but as long as I’m comfortable, in more ways than one…

… and there is something else that I will come back to in due course (hopefully) as something else has caught my eye.

I’m asked often how I got into public transport, and the truth is, I just don’t know for certain. My dad was a conductor with Dundee Corporation Transport, but only for two weeks, before returning to his own trade as a baker. We always used public transport, as no one in our family could drive. I remember vaguely spotting a service change poster or something, and it went from there. Just like the transition thing, it was always the right thing to do – just, like so many other things in life, I was unable to pin it down to one specific incident or moment in my life. With transition, I just knew by the age of six that I could/should/would change. As for everything else that comes with it – well, that comes and goes. I hoped that one day, I would have changed, and be comfortable, enjoying what I was doing, but not necessarily working in transport. Health has been a problem, but we’re now happy and comfortable. Yes, sometimes things get in the way, and I am in no way rich…. But getting along.

Anyway, soon off to work, where I can swap typing about places such as Rottal (a village in the Angus Glens, served by two school buses) for talking about ROTL…

Further to my post on Sunday about jennyemily  and Zoe R’s civil partnership, my ABF admin Bob T’s wife Zoe gave birth to their daughter on Sunday. What are the odds? Two major events on Sunday, both involved a woman called Zoe! :-)

Anyway, back to bedlam…

… I was working on the second edition of the Dundee Area Bus Fleetbook yesterday, and the Mac desktop (plugged via a CAT5 cable into the router on my desk) stopped getting web throughput. No email, no web. I’m looking at the laptop on my left, which is streaming audio really well at that point. They are both plugged into the same router, AirNetwork2. So, a cold reboot (i.e. pull the power out) of the router, after a reboot of the Mac failed to do anything. Now, no light on the router… oh teapot! Left it till C came home, and she had a look. The Vista laptop is conveniently overlooking the router (AirNetwork2) that it is plugged into, and decides to go wireless to AirNetwork1, forty feet away! Anyway, the router appeared to have a adaptor swich go off, but is now back in use.

After an order for booklets from Transport for London were delivered (in several packages) last month, I got one parcel from CDL (their distribution house) yesterday. One today. I think they’ve doubled up my order… and, no sign of the Chesham/Amersham Met Line folder that I’ve asked twice in the last six weeks for…

…I’ve also had the Tesco delivery in today. Now, we usually choose “without bags” as an option, largely as it works out better costwise overall (i.e. 1p in points per four items without bags). thebustocrookes has previously mentioned about Tesco selling Polish water, but then guilt-tripping you when you ask for a bag. So, today, in with our shopping… a 998 page Tesco Direct paper catalogue, in a carrier bag!

Today’s trip out is to be the first in a busy week and a half coming up, so keep watching! We’re approaching the two-year point of our relationship too, with some plans for the weekend immediately beforehand. It’s been fun to think back of all the things I’ve achieved with her help in the last two years, but even more so, of the good times and fun we’ve had. Still love her now as much as I did back on 31st March 2007.

I've just received the Delay Repay vouchers from National Express East Coast, following journey problems on 20th November. However, it would appear that the NX East Anglia are now responding to NX East Coast issues too. This was obvious with the envelope having a Norwich postmark, but also, the letter was written saying "... following your delayed journey from Hertford East..." - now, I've not made any journeys from Hertford East this year, although Royston in East Hertfordshire, so perhaps good improvisation!

Secondly, currently have Q103 in the background, and various mentions have been made of the name being rebranded as Heart in the near future. The UK is starting to get like the states, for what one writer dubbed "cookie cutter radio" - the same "local" brands being everywhere!

In the style of angharads_house  and thebustocrookes  (and now being added to by elaine4queen ), here’s a quick ten-pointer roundup of things I’ve been getting up to, and the rest of my f-list.

1.    On the 5th November, for some bizarre reason, I was sneezing for most of the night (yes, despite closing the windows!) No idea why, especially as the local bonfire was last night (7th!)

2.    Paperwork from Open University arrived in the post this morning (typically, just after I’d chased it up), but they confirmed what I was told verbally. Both modules start on February 9th. In between, lots of stuff that makes me sound mad just thinking like that, for now…

3.    … C and I are planning on hiring a car and heading north over the holidays, including me moving out of my flat in Dundee around the same time. All that is subject to health.

4.    Speaking of which, C’s appointment for Addenbrooke’s has turned up, for not this coming week, but the next.

5.     Speaking of Mr (and Mrs) thebustocrookes, he’s on holiday for a fortnight. Was it Mexico or Florida this time – I forgot. Anyway, they are both hot right now. So, if you miss Dougie, hopefully this ten-pointer can keep you going. I better check the Berwick results later, assuming they are playing this weekend.

6.    Following from thermalsatsuma , elaine4queen  has posted a recipe for Mushroom Soup, which I tried on C. I like any recipe that doesn’t give a specific time, but instead says “…When bored…” anyway, the recipe apparently came via kirstygold , but you can read Elaine’s version here.

7.    On the evening of 6th November, auntysarah ,the_local_echo , zoeimogen  and around 150 or so in total, formed what is more-than-likely the largest TS related protests in UK history. The protest was regarding what was seen as hypocrisy in the workings of Stonewall, by award-nominating someone who appeared not to be entirely in their beliefs. auntysarah  explains it all here – part one and part two. If I read one of the other stories rightly, 80 people were inside the Victoria & Albert Museum – there’s defiantly strength in numbers.

8.    My mother very briefly got biblical about same-sex marriage on the phone yesterday, although it was just a passing comment, as opposed to ramming it down my throat. She’s defiantly happy about what we’re doing, which she was at pains to stress, when I asked to clarify what she meant. I think I’m as close to how she’s ever going to get, and it’s defiantly not bad at all – better than how things were a few years ago, when we could never talk about the gender stuff. Maybe she’s over it now, which would be a good thing. Anyway, it does show one thing – that if she sees me as a lesbian, then perhaps, she doesn’t see *him* anymore – and that’s defiantly a good thing, as long as it continues!

9.    Downloaded the whole album worth of current Scooter rehashes and new material, including some older classic stuff from the band. Whistling Dave appears to be their remix of the Tetris theme tune, which I had to explain to C. I thought everyone had heard of Tetris, but obviously not!

10.    And finally, following previous whinges about government servants from the JobCentrePlus team, it was nice to see the north-west London based team responsible for DLA (from the DWP – Department for Work & Pensions) turn around my form in just a few days, and arrange things quickly and speedily. When you feel this bad (sometimes), stress of things just adds to it - and I like to mention good service, not just the bad.