(no subject)
Sods Law dictates that the weather improves just as I stop working for Xmas. I've had today off, and in theory spent it running around doing last minute preparations. In reality, you can add a fair amount of arsing around to that.
The weather yesterday was - commuting-wise at least - the worst of the week of bad weather we've had. For some reason Brighton got hit particularly badly: the snow from Friday was finally beginning to melt when the temperature dropped below freezing again and we were left with sheet ice on the road, and compressed and slippery snow on the pavements. Driving to the station, I passed a bus that was parked diagonally up on the grass verge, having skidded across the road, and every time I tried to break you could hear the ice cracking up underneath the car.
The thing you realise about Brighton when it freezes is that it is a town built entirely on hills. I parked on a flat road for a change, and then spent 30 minutes on my usually 7-minute walk to the station. Absolutely everything was frozen over. The only way any of us could walk was quite literally down the middle of the main roads, which meant that we had to step off back onto the frozen snow every time a car came. In the end I took a fair bit of Preston Drove sitting down. It was the easier option.
The trouble is, London had none of these problems, and so no-one could work out why I was struggling to get in. Fortunately, my boss lives a little way along the coast from me, so at least he had some idea. In the end I left early yesterday, on the off chance things had frozen again, but there were no problems getting home (for me: my sympathies are with the people on the fifteen trains unable to run up the line all day, who just got to sit there).
So, holidays here at last. Eleven days before I return to work, apart from having to work Wednesday since I ran out of leave, but that will be down in Brighton, so no long commute either. At the moment I'm cooking brownies for the base of a black forest trifle on Boxing Day. Not to eat. Oh no! ;-)
The only thing left for me to do is try ironing some clothes so I don't turn up at the family lunch naked tomorrow ;-) That and remember to get the brownies out of the oven.
So anyway, happy xmas and bah humbug to te lot of you, and I'll see you on the other side of surviving the family.
The weather yesterday was - commuting-wise at least - the worst of the week of bad weather we've had. For some reason Brighton got hit particularly badly: the snow from Friday was finally beginning to melt when the temperature dropped below freezing again and we were left with sheet ice on the road, and compressed and slippery snow on the pavements. Driving to the station, I passed a bus that was parked diagonally up on the grass verge, having skidded across the road, and every time I tried to break you could hear the ice cracking up underneath the car.
The thing you realise about Brighton when it freezes is that it is a town built entirely on hills. I parked on a flat road for a change, and then spent 30 minutes on my usually 7-minute walk to the station. Absolutely everything was frozen over. The only way any of us could walk was quite literally down the middle of the main roads, which meant that we had to step off back onto the frozen snow every time a car came. In the end I took a fair bit of Preston Drove sitting down. It was the easier option.
The trouble is, London had none of these problems, and so no-one could work out why I was struggling to get in. Fortunately, my boss lives a little way along the coast from me, so at least he had some idea. In the end I left early yesterday, on the off chance things had frozen again, but there were no problems getting home (for me: my sympathies are with the people on the fifteen trains unable to run up the line all day, who just got to sit there).
So, holidays here at last. Eleven days before I return to work, apart from having to work Wednesday since I ran out of leave, but that will be down in Brighton, so no long commute either. At the moment I'm cooking brownies for the base of a black forest trifle on Boxing Day. Not to eat. Oh no! ;-)
The only thing left for me to do is try ironing some clothes so I don't turn up at the family lunch naked tomorrow ;-) That and remember to get the brownies out of the oven.
So anyway, happy xmas and bah humbug to te lot of you, and I'll see you on the other side of surviving the family.