Testing...

Hoorah, Martlesham is finally open, the punters are coming in and I can get back to some semblance of normality again...

The launch event on Tuesday went pretty well in the end. It was, of course, dominated by the councillors etc who have never been on site before and probably never will again but at least a couple of the speeches managed to give some credit to some of the people who'd actually done the work. And the doves all flew without encouragement when they got released, which was a step up from events at the Bury Road launch in 2000. OK, so we were pleased it was all over before darkness fell as the lights in the terminal building didn't get fitted until yesterday, but otherwise good stuff. I even managed to get on telly for a few seconds that night. They even managed to make a cake in the shape of one of the buses that was surprisingly edible. Mind you, it was a grey and cold day (again). We really must get the hang of launching things in the summer from now on. Would be nice to have some scantily clad models around or something. Just to add a touch of colour to events you understand...

So Wednesday was the real test of all our hard work when we opened to the public. I got there at 0645 in time for the first bus to roll at 0700. And the first passenger finally rolled up at 0750 or thereabouts. Which was nice as we were beginning to think we'd be stood there all day waiting. So we did the ceremonial handing over of a 20 trip smartcard, bottle of wine and P&R umbrella. There were press around as well so I also ended up in the Evening Star that day. Fame! I'm gonna live forever, etc. Ahem. It all went pretty well from then on with a steady stream of people running through including several who bought smartcards before even trying the route (and thus committed themselves to coming back), a few who bought them on their way home again and also Joan and Mum (who I met on my bus back to the site, which was nice). Hoorah! It was of course another grey and rainy day so that may have put a few people off from trying us out, but in the end we must have had at least 60 cars through. Which compares well with the other two when they opened. But it was a long day and I was more than glad to get home. Despite ending up spending the evening on my own as Joan went out to Bingo with Helen. Total winnings £2.50 each. Whooppee, life of luxury for us from now on.

Then yesterday and we had hoped to get back to regular stuff. In fact I had hoped not to go near Martlesham, but that was not to be. The plan was simple enough - go out first thing and put up the "open for christmas shopping" signs at London Road (the one at Bury Road got removed last year and we haven't got ant for Martlesham yet) then pelt off to Bury St Edmunds to deliver some timetables to Greene King brewery. But while we were putting the signs up the phone rang. Martlesham. One of the new buses wasn't working properly so had been replaced by a spare. Which was a couple of inches taller. So naturally the driver had smacked into the overhanging roof of the terminal building, ripping a gutter off and twisting some of the planks. Marvellous.

Gary and I thus went over to see the damage and have a chat with the on-site engineer and project managers about stopping it happen again. After much arguing and stomping about we finally got them to agree to extend the kerb line away from the building. After all, we might end up running bigger buses still in the future (including double deckers) so need to be able to cope with those too. Not sure when it will happen, bu the sooner the better in my book.

All of which meant we didn't even leave here towards Bury until after lunch. Then on the way back Gary's phone rang - some furniture he'd ordered had arrived. As we had the van we picked that up and I did my good deed for the day by helping him get it up to his flat. Those little things that make me remember some of the reasons I was pleased not to be working at Argos any more. Flat-pack wardrobes are just so heavy!

And now the weekend is approaching rapidly. I think I will devote the rest of today to clearing the clutter that has accumulated on and around my desk during all the launch build-up, then next week back to the cut and thrust of trying to meet targets.

Only another day to go now before Martlesham Park & Ride opens, so hopefully with that out of the way I will be able to calm down my life a fraction and get back on with normal stuff like the rest of my job and things. Certainly had precious little time to keep up with it last week. So, what did I manage to do?

Tuesday was a training day - how to write better English. Not sure how much I learned really, and how much was just reminding me of how I ought to be doing things. Some of it was interesting but I think I could probably have got by without it. Still, we are supposed to be an organisation committed to continuous improvement so I shouldn't grumble. Going on the odd "not so useful" course keeps my name up there as someone willing to go on these things when something worth doing turns up. Plus it was a day out of the office, which normally would be welcome but this time of course was merely one in five days out in the week.

Wednesday and Thursday saw me do Martlesham, Woodbridge, Felixstowe and Lowestoft on P&R promotional duties. Both days went pretty well. The only complaints were related to the roundabout at the site entrance which is nothing to do with me and generally people were looking forward to us opening. In fact we were welcomed almost with open arms by some. My fears about the price compared to the other two sites may prove justified come the opening, but nobody raised them as a significant issue. Mind you, the number of people who never go to Ipswich (or at least say they never go) was staggering. I know they say Suffolk folk are an insular lot but I wasn't sure I believed it until now. The most extreme was a girl who confessed to having lived in Lowestoft 23 years and only been to Norwich once in that time and Ipswich never. I think I'd go stark raving bonkers (again!) if I didn't see different places regularly.

It was good to spend the three days out with some of the drivers and get to know them a bit better. There was a time when I knew all the P&R drivers quite well, but what with other jobs and them changing a lot I've sort of lost touch. So I will be making an effort with the other two sites as well to make sure people know I'm Mr P&R!

The trips also gave me the chance to confirm that the buses are comfortable for the longer journey in to town from Martlesham. OK, so I stayed awake and reading but other spare drivers managed to snooze their way around the county. We did also have a spot of excitement in Lowestoft at one retail park. First the manager of one of the units tried to make a scene about us being there and taking his trade away. But we had got permission from the site management to be there so that was easily resolved. Then we had a car catch fire in the car park which was quite spectacular. And the fire brigade were very quick to arrive so we got to see them at work before making our retreat - after all, a bus is no competition with men in uniform when it comes to getting attention.

Friday was a delivery day for me after we ran out of other people to do them instead. A slight mix-up with the van (mainly relating to the person doing deliveries for me on Wednesday smashing a mirror on it) meant we did 167 miles in a very nice Rover 75 estate. Which meant coming back in to town half way through for a re-fill but we were prepared to put up with that. After all, we did have a lovely leather interior and more toys to play with than you could shake a stick at. Down to individual climate control for each side of the car! Plus there was a nice lunch in Laxfield, another pub I will have to take Joan along to one day. Roll on next summer and us starting to have days out again.

So that was the working week over with finally. I was fairly knackered by the time I got home on Friday night and looking forward to relaxing a bit. Of course Joan was at work both Saturday and Sunday so I was still up around normal time to take her in. But then I spent two days doing a bit of tidying and ironing, a bit of reading and a bit of playing games on this here PC. OK, so I also did a lot of struggling with stupidly designed spring clips while trying to change a headlamp bulb (I think I wasted over an hour trying to undo the blasted thing before giving up, getting help from Dad and watching him solve it in 5 seconds flat). Went on a bit of a downwrd spiral for a while after that - mainly frustration over being either beaten by something so stupid or at being so stupid myself. Didn't really pick up until Joan came home again - she is my living anti-depressant.

On the book front I am now on to number 4 - The Gap into Madness: Chaos And Order and still we are meeting new characters and situations. Which is good in the stopping boredom setting in stakes but adds more twists and turns to the plot that will need resolving at some point. Am definitely enjoying the series but at the same time wish I could get to the end quicker.

Last night we squeezed in watching Bend It Like Beckham which managed to be a lot funnier than I had expected from the reviews. Could be that some of the jokes made more sense to us through knowing Bhupen and his family than perhaps they would to others.

So now we are almost up to date again. This morning was the final on-site snagging run through for Martlesham before the launch ceremony tomorrow. Found a few minor things that give cause for slight worry (like the building lights haven't arrived yet!) but I think we should be OK in the end. I'll be glad when the first punter turns up on Wednesday morning though. Then this afternoon I have been working here after yet another trip to the dentist. Just the normal one in Felixstowe today for a check up and filling. Face still a bit sore but then I did need extra anaesthetic again as I was a tad sensitive when he started drilling. Right, that will do for today.

Grrrrrrrrrr. Another two hours at Argos last night waiting for alarm engineers (and again we attracted a security guard and three police people). That was after a pretty good day when we had been lazy in the morning then visited Makro for some stocking up on boring but useful stuff (cat food, loo roll, you know the score). Kind of left a grim taste in the mouth after the enjoyment we'd had earlier.

Today has been pretty good too apart from the early start. My bus was in Framlingham and after we finally got there (long story involving forgotten leaflets and diversions to Martlesham site) we had a welcome response level. People knew we were going to be there and wanted to know about the site. I hope they translate into users. Course tomorrow then more bussing weds and thurs before deliveries on fri.

Tomorrow is also our 8th wedding anniversary. Where does the time go so fast?

Full report on all the week's activities when I have the energy to write it...

What happened to October then? Don't seem to have had a minute to sit and think, much less stick stuff up on here. Anyway, Argos refit is nearly finished now. Joan has had a hectic time of it trying to keep everything going while the shop has been turned inside out and back again. I must say it is looking very nice in there now, but not sure if all the effort has been totally worth it. She hasn't had a day off this week (and funnily enough Marion has been on holiday for the whole process) and is getting a bit tired. I think all the staff are looking forward to the end now.

I've been frantically trying to get everything done for Martlesham opening. I think we are just about there now, which is good as I'm basically not in the office again until the day of the opening ceremony. This week I will be out doing promotional bus trips three days, on a course one day and delivering the new area books the last. They came this week and are looking particularly good, if I do say so myself. But too much lifting as the quantities ordered seem to get more each time. And with a bit of arm-twisting and calling in of favours I have managed to get help with the distribution so nearly all the books will be out to the right places by the end of the week as well. That will help my quest for new outlets to resume as I won't spend half of it playing catch-up.

The big thrill for me was last Sunday when we had a visit from College friends Cara & Phil, who I've not seen for something like 9 years. Joan had to work unfortunately, but we called in to see her and a good time was had by all I think. They haven't changed a bit (apart from the two girls of course) and I just felt totally relaxed with them here. Great stuff. We also went out to Ma & Pa's for tea that night which was not so relaxing - Dad hit us with the news that he has a dodgy ear, a dodgy eye and during the stress that made him quit the Abbeyfield job suffered a minor lacuna stroke which may have affected his memory a bit. It hit me quite a bit and I had a few funny moments myself. You don't expect it to happen to your own parents after all. Still, all seems to be either treatable or not worth major worry and he is getting on with life the same.

Catching up on entertaining things, I am now on to book 3 The Gap into Power - A Dark & Hungry God Arises and totally gripped. No chance of anything getting between the books now, I will be going all out to the end of the series. We also watched Enigma which was very good. And nice to see the British perspective on code breaking after the travesty of U-571. Time for lunch now (I think I can manage it after the shock of buying new tyres earlier)...

Gave in to temptation earlier and had my first hot Bacon & Sausage roll from Alberts since before the tooth work started today. Absolutely wonderful and a bit nice too. Made up for the annoyances on the way in this morning. We had a bit of a clear out from the loft on Sunday which resulted in me sticking out for the dustmen this morning: 10 black sacks, a couple of old suitcases (full), some old boxes of junk, a mysterious short ladder found up there and our old headboard which for some reason we had kept - all of which took a while to pile up. Then driving along I managed to turn off the A14 and was halfway along the Nacton Road before I realised it, so had to divert back to the A14 to get to Park & Ride. All of which meant I missed the bus I was aiming for and arrived later than planned. Worries me a bit that. I know I'm awake when I'm driving but I quite often find myself at a place without remembering the stretch of road since I last noticed it. I must have been paying attention because I've never ploughed into another car or wound up dead in a ditch, but it is a tad scary.

Oh well, here now and all the management for the whole division, never mind just the group, are out on some away day brainstorm session so at least it is peaceful here and we can get on with stuff.

Yesterday was another Library P&R plugging day. Woodbridge this time. A bit busier than Aldeburgh but still not really worth sending two of us out for the day. Still, another nice lunch on expenses. Monday just the usual desk work stuff. Nothing startling.

Still not feeling particularly enthralled by much of this at the moment and would rather be somewhere else. Although possibly not at Argos with Joan - they have finally started on the re-fit the shop has been needing for a good five years so things area bit chaotic there to say the least. Still, at least she will be getting her own office out of it for the cash stuff so with any luck her life will be much better.

I guess it must just be the approach of winter - had to get the big coat out for the first time today, clocks go back on Saturday night, half term next week. Stuff like that really. I dunno. I'm sure I'll be over it in a few days.

Well, Tuesday was pretty much a complete waste of time. OK, so Aldeburgh may not be the busiest town on a windy autumn day, but during the 4 hours or so we managed to put up with sitting around in the Library we only gave out 4 P&R leaflets and spoke to about 6 people. Hopeless. I don't think they actually told anyone we were going to be there, which didn't help of course. Still, got a nice lunch out of it.

Wednesday we had the secured car park inspection for Martlesham and passed, then another operations meeting in the afternoon which went well.

Thursday I had the day off to relax with Joan. Partly because I was simply knackered and needed a day off and partly to use up some hours. Only been back from holiday three weeks and already managed to build up two days worth of flexi time. And no prospect of that letting up until after Martlesham opens now so I thought I'd better have a day when I still could. So we did some shopping and washed the car but otherwise took it easy.

Yesterday it was back into the thick of launch planning and working out distribution for the books when they get here. And now today I have ironed a bit and will be off to pick Joan up when she finishes at 3 for a lazy rest of the day.

I wish this building would make its mind up about what temperature it wants to be. Luckily I decided to bring an extra layer today as its been OK, too hot and now too cold. Most peculiar. Mind you, I was here at just after 7 today following the dropping off of Jerry at the hospital. He might well be under the knife or even out of theatre by now. If it all goes according to plan he should be allowed home again tomorrow but I think someone else will be picking him up.

So, we had a pretty good weekend all told.

Apart from Friday night – in celebration of having my teeth back we decided some nice crusty bread was in order. So naturally I sliced my left thumb open with the bread knife. Still painful and bruised now although the cut seems to be healing nicely. Putting a real cramp on my joypad skills!

Saturday Joan worked in the morning then when I went to pick her up I got notified of a change to the plans. Instead of going home we went to Puccinos for lunch with Lesley. Which was particularly tasty as always in there. I really must get round to trying something else rather than having the same filling all the time, but it is just so nice… We then managed to sleep through most of the afternoon, which was also nice. I think we are now finally caught up with the missing sleep caused by the alarm.

Yesterday we spent the morning wandering around the market – even managed to spend some money for a change. Although mainly what we came home with was fruit, veg and bird seed. Then while I did exciting grass cutting stuff Joan went mad in the kitchen. So we had a fabulous dinner with homemade pumpkin soup and wonderful turkey with lots of different roast veggies. Lip smacking stuff. Plus we re-watched Mission Impossible 2 which was pretty good too.

Today I have of course achieved loads through being here so early (and especially before the distractions of phones and other people arrived on the scene). I could almost bring myself to do it again if the situation arose. Tomorrow I am in Aldeburgh at the library it would seem, doing an exhibition for the P&R publicity plan. So definitely an early finish for me today is warranted. Which will be arranged by simply slipping off after lunch to re-distribute all the new P&R leaflets which have all been delivered to London Road.

Well it’s finally decided and official. We, the public transport group, are confirmed as being one of the teams that will move to our new home in Endeavour House sometime next year. Still can’t decide if this is good or bad news, but they do say a change is as good as a rest…

Stitches came out fine this morning. It sure is nice to be free of them. I was able to use both sides of my mouth again when I had my lunch. Whoopeeee. Hopefully the sensitive stuff that happened with the other top jaw but not the lower won’t repeat itself, but we shall have to wait and see. I have to go back in November for a review and polish up thing, then that’s it. Back to normal dentistry again.

Tomorrow is the day of the Park & Ride price increase. And naturally it has all gone tits-up at the last minute. The leaflets won’t arrive and the livery changes on the buses won’t be happening until Monday now, and the software changes for the ticket machines until the 18th. Oh well, we will just have to muddle through as best we can.

Finished the first Gap book last night and have gone straight on to number two – The Gap in to Vision – Forbidden Knowledge which is proving just as good so far. Books 2 – 5 are all a lot thinker than 1 though. The style is still taking a bit of getting used to – nearly all thoughts and action with a tiny bit of conversation and even less description. So my images of how the locations and people look etc is coming more from memories of a zillion other sci-fi books and films etc.

Now we have Norfolk coming for a chat.

Oh me and my big mouth! Did I mention not much going on in our lives? Thought I might have done. Anyway, we had a nice dinner whilst re-watching the first Mission Impossible film and had just started mellowing out for the rest of the night when the phone rang. It was, of course, an alarm call for Argos. First one since Joan’s been back at work (there were a few calls while she was off but we passed them on to other people) and it seems the procedures have been changed in that time. Now we have a security company on board as well to come and go in with us as the Police were getting fed up with the time it was taking other keyholders to arrive from Braintree (Marion) or wherever Matt lives and weren’t prepared to wait.

So, we went gaily trotting along there and met up with the guard chap, went in and could find absolutely no reason for an activation. Other than perhaps the heating over the door having been left on, which has been known to cause problems in the past by blowing hanging cards around. Of course they have no cards these days so all we could assume was that perhaps the heat had been picked up by the infra-red sensor doobry that was showing on the panel as being the cause of the alarm. One remote re-set later and we were on our way home again. Only to be called out again after about 20 minutes had passed. Back we trotted then, to meet the guard again. Except this time the Police were there to have a nose around (they said they’d been along for the first one as well but we saw no sign of them).

Second time of activation in a short period with no obvious break-in means they can’t or won’t reset over the phone and we had to wait for an engineer. So, we pulled over a sofa from display, put the telly on and settled down to wait. He eventually turned up at about 1230 by which point we were all a bit tired and frustrated. Diagnosis was a fault in the sensor (which he didn’t have a spare for with him) and he ended up simply disconnecting that one so we could go home. Finally got to bed about 1.15 this morning. So I had an extra hour over when the alarm normally goes before I got up and came to work feeling a little bit sleepy.

Kind of wish I hadn’t – we had the second part of the big group meeting where we talked about ways and means for us to meet our ridiculously huge targets. Some of the ideas put forward are just crazy so there was much argue-ifying and shouting back and forth. A great way to spend a totally unproductive morning.

Oh well, Joan is out with Jacqui from Ipswich so she’s having a good time at least.

Another busy day for me. Finally saw the last few pages of the timetable books and got them approved for printing, wrote a 3,000 odd word guide to using Park & Ride and checked through the web site and changed half of that. So for the second day in a row I didn't get out at lunchtime, but never mind. I did manage an early finish instead.

Joan still doing OK and going to increase her hours again next week.

Nothing else to say!

Slightly annoyed with myself today - I wrote a bit for here last night then managed not to save it. Probably wasn't particularly earth-shattering but irritating to have lost it nonetheless.

Anyway, after two hours of fretting over what had happened to her, messages left on our answerphone, texts sent and even a call to work to find out if she really had left I finally got hold of Joan around 3.30 yesterday. Lots of worrying over nothing on my part as the morning had seemingly gone quite well and things are looking back on track for her. But I hate not knowing what's going on, not being able to talk to her etc. Don't know what I'd do if we were forced into a no-contact situation for an extended period of time.

Last night saw the end of the current run of Waking The Dead, which is a shame as once again the series has been pretty gripping. I know they don't come cheap, but I do wish they could manage more than four two-part stories at a time. Still we do at least get Silent Witness back this weekend in compensation. Not sure what it is about slightly gruesome police-oriented tales that draws us in. Of course I'd also love to see the BBC put the same care, attention and budget in to a decent Sci-Fi series...

Am finding the daily use of Park & Ride to get to work not too bad so far. And it is much better than sitting in the car stuck in traffic down some of the roads around here thinking about whether there would still be a space left in the car park when I arrived. OK, so door to door takes a bit longer, but I'm prepared to put up with that for a bit less hassle and stress of a morning.

Here's a few words I wrote yesterday then completely forgot to post after getting distracted, plus commentary from today in brackets!


Spent some time working in the garden today while the sun was out - which was nice actually. I know I normally avoid digging if I can the last rays of summer were more than welcome. (Today my side aches like I've shifted half a ton of earth. Funnily enough, I seem to have shifted some earth yesterday).

Anyway, the call Joan was expecting finally happened and she is a lot happier now. She will be working part-time this week to properly get back in to routine and then hopefully everything else will be sorted. (She should be home any minute and hopefully not had any hassle off Marion today. I'm waiting for the call).

Not much else to write really - Richard came along yesterday so that aspect of Saturdays is also back to normal! Tonight H, B & A are coming along for a meal and this morning we finally go our wills and stuff signed so I can take those in tomorrow. Gripping stuff this life we live! (Meal was top stuff with lots of laughter all round doing Joan the world of good. Wills all handed in to the will people at last so that's another job done).

I'm sure the time will come again when I have the chance to make more regular (possibly even daily) entries once again, but I can't see that being particularly soon. Mind you, better to be busy than bored.

So what have I been up to this week then? Checking timetables, sorting park & ride stuff, checking timetables, having a one to one with new joint group record of 23 items on the list and more general timetable checking. I'm sure we will get the damn books printed one of these days, but it does seem like a real struggle once again this edition. Bloody bus companies changing their minds all the time over what they want to run.

Joan went back to work on Tuesday and not really much has changed. The new stockroom lad is OK but needs a bit more training before he'll be really useful, and Marion is as dippy as ever. She went home at 4 on Tues leaving Joan on her own, on her first day back, with a delivery due (it hadn't arrived by the time we gave up and left just after 6). Not a very promising welcome. Wednesday wasn't much better and by lunchtime yesterday (her day off!) Joan was not in a good state. Cathy the counsellor had been and was not best pleased at the way things were going on, which left Joan in a bad way. I went home at 12 to be with her and hopefully did the right things by being there for her. We left a number of messages with the area manager, but he never called back which didn't help matters either. He should be calling her at work this afternoon so hopefully that will help resolve a few issues. I'm waiting for a call to tell me how it went before I pass judgement though.

Fingers are crossed though for things to get better.

Have now finished the video games book. It was very interesting if not at all what I was really hoping for in the pages. It was mainly a history of the companies and personalities involved in the American industry with a bit of detail on Europe and Japan thrown in for good measure. And as stated before console dominated. I guess what I really want is some sort of encyclopedia of the games themselves. Perhaps I will have to write it.

Have now started Stephen Donaldson's Gap series (Sci-fi not about clothes retail) with volume one: The Gap Into Conflict - The Real Story. Just scene-setting in the pages I've turned so far but it is looking quite good.

We are also entertaining ourselves at home with new purchase Super Bust-A-Move All-Stars on the Gamecube. Yet another iteration on the Puzzle Bobble theme but I felt we needed a version to use downstairs on the big telly as well as the one on the PC so it just had to be bought. A few slightly annoying changes over the original but most of the pure gameplay is there unaffected.

Right, back to my P&R newsletter writing...

I feel terrible. Friday was, as mentioned, the last of the big trips to Colchester for general mouth abuse. Talk about saving the worst for last. Not only do I feel like he spent the whole time smacking me in the face, I look like it too - all swollen and bruised. Great fun. It was also the most painful of the lot to actually go through, even adding extra anaesthetic half way through didn't really help. So I am back on the anti-biotics and also pumped full of ibuprofen to keep the pain bearable. Lots of soup and mashed potatoes are also helping to kep me alive...

Not much else to say really. Am generally just feeling down over the whole thing and not particularly wanting to go to work tomorrow. But not really "ill" enough to stay home either.

Have started a book for the first time since coming back from Switzerland. Hadn't wanted to until now as I couldn't be bothered getting deeply involved in anything. Instead I was wandering my way through some of the stockpile of interesting articles sent over by Monica in Seattle. I feel a bit bad about the length of time some of them had been sitting around waiting for me to investigate, but then I do view reading as something you have to want to do. Hence they come out when I want to read but not get lost in a plot or major discussion. So, what I am now reading is The Ultimate History Of Video Games by Steven L. Kent. It is proving both fascinating and frustrating in equal measure. The former because although I sort of know a bit about the stuff that interests me there is loads in here that is new (or at least puts flesh on the bones of rumour) and it is genuinely interesting stuff. The latter because it is very USA-centred and only really deals with arcade and console games, while I grew up with a very British computer. Still, good so far despite those flaws.

Joan now out buying plants while I sit here and feel gloomy.

Not sure how best to describe yesterday in one, pithy phrase. I guess mildly interesting but also tedious would be the most accurate description.

We left Ipswich at 0730 and were expecting to get there before 10. Actual arrival time was just after 11 due to excessive numbers of accidents on the A14 (some of which were not pleasant to see as we passed) causing us to sit in queues an awful lot. It did prove the car was happy at both high and low speeds, but not much else. Still, at least the roads were generally free of tree screens so I could look at the scenery (mainly fields with the occasional cow, admittedly) as we flashed or crawled past.

The Passenger Transport Solutions part of the show was surprisingly small. Considering that it has previously been held as a stand alone event I wasn't particularly impressed by the number or quality of exhibitors. Some of them were quite good and it was nice to put a few faces to names, but mostly I was happy to leave it well alone. The Bus side was a bit more interesting - always nice to see shiny new buses up close, meet some people and see our stuff being used as show examples (in this case the bus stop announcements for Martlesham Park & Ride). But neither of them managed to hold my attention for the whole day. Perhaps if I had gone to the seminars I booked up for things might have been better, but we missed one through traffic and the other because I was sorting out some fine details on our bus order.

Big disadvantage was the enormous cost of food at the NEC. Still, at least that can be claimed back.

When we got shot of Sonic, Charles and I took a wander over to Birmingham International Airport which is located on the same site.

There we had a trip on the new mono-rail, cable-hauled people mover thing. Which was wonderful and unsurprisingly turned out to be Swiss technology. Say no more. It also successfully killed some time for us.

Trip home went much better and we stopped for dinner at a very nice pub in Bury St Edmunds which I hadn't known about before.

Today I have been plugging away at various bits of timetable change, P&R price change and other work. Feel like I haven't got anywhere but do have a pile of finished stuff to prove me wrong for a change. Colchester and the final dental work tomorrow.

Whoopee doo.

So here I am back at the desk. Not quite sure how I made it through yesterday really as much of it was very frustrating.

Started off badly. We are now back in the old car park we used to use before the summer, having been chucked off the College

waterfront one now that their new term has started. Except of course they have built a new block in the middle of our old place so we

have fewer spaces to play with. It was tight before but now things are ridiculous. Yesterday I arrived at 0825 - earlier than I would

normally and it was already full. Luckily I was able to find a space on the road nearby but that did of course mean a longer walk in the

rain at the end of the day. Today I arrived at 0810 and got one of the last remaining places. We are supposed to be able to start

work any time between 0730 and 0930 and some people who prefer a later start are sure to be getting more and more irate as the

weeks pass. I think I might just bite the bullet sooner rather than later and just use Park & Ride all the time. Which could prove

awkward in itself when Joan goes back to work, plus it will involve more potential exposure to the weather.

OK, so I'm supposed to be spending my days helping to persuade people to get out of their cars and use public transport, and as such

ought to be setting an example but frankly this just winds me up. I have already started thinking about possibly switching to taking the

train when we move office to the other side of town - right by the Station - but it still leaves things like taking Joan to work, picking her

up at night (especially in the winter when things get dark...), getting around during the day if needed and stuff like that. It does kind of

wind me up also that throughout the time I have been here people have been leaving all the time with rights to park nearer to the

building than where I end up. But no-one I know of has even been given the opportunity to move to a nearer spot. Yesterday there

were plenty of spaces in the nearer car parks free when I walked past, but no way I can get in to use them. If they were to just change

the system to make all spaces available on a first come first parked basis then half the problem would go. Oh well, we will just have to

grit our teeth and get on with it.

Anyway, yesterday I also found over 300 emails waiting for me, a whole pile of stuff in the in-tray and final confirmation fo the chnages

ot the Park & Ride fares. For the existing sites it was what I suggested basically, but for Martlesham we are going to be looking at

£3.20 which I think is too high and will put people off using it. After all, that's only a 30p saving on parking all day in town (Although

not as close to the shops etc as the bus will go). But, the commercial bus fare on the same(ish) route has gone up and we can't

undercut it. So basically I spent all day wading through words and maps and stuff trying to get a handle on where we were with

everything. How can two weeks generate so much rubbish that it feels like I was off a month or more? It just doesn't make sense to

me. Still trying to make sense of most of it today (and that's without even looking at the new timetable book proofs).

So all in all it was nice to get home again at the end of the day. Wonder if I could have got any more cliches in to that sentence?

Today I am just plugging along for the morning. Then we have a Martlesham meeting this afternoon so that should hopefully provide

answers to some of the outstanding questions.

Tomorrow I am off to Birmingham with Gary, Charles and Sonic for Coach & Bus and Passenger Transport

Solutions exhibitions at the NEC. Not sure if they will be really interesting or deathly dull, but they are a day out anyway. Just

so long as I am allowed to nod off inthe car rather than being stimulating conversation all the time.

OK, so what I didn't mention on Thursday was starting to feel a bit under the weather while we were wandering around Makro - head begining to ache, limbs likewise and general flu like symptoms coming along. They came to a head yesterday when I spent most of the afternoon shivering under the duvet and generally being miserable. Feeling much better now, although not up to 100% operating efficiency as yet.

A few more things about the holiday that have come back to me (why is it so hard to write about the experience?). The global reputation for Switzerland being a really clean country is totally deserved. Not just in the obvious things like spotless toilets or whatever (and there's a cultural difference for you - in the UK you will generally find a coat hook on the back of a toilet door, over there they seem to be on the wall to the side). We never saw a single item of litter in Switzerland, hardly any graffitti and none of the general "mess" that fills France. Even the roadworks looked spotless. To the point of having little gangs of men up on the mountain roads clearing leaves. OK, so with the twists and turns and precipitous drops up there it makes sense, but they were everywhere, all the time.

Then there is also the more relaxed attitude over on the continent to sex, porn and generally getting your kit off. Seemed to be sex shops everywhere you turned, all the newsagents full of openly displayed porn mags etc. Then when we stopped in Paris there was a selection of magazines in each room provided by the hotel - not porn mags, but one was a photo mag including sections on Porn photographer Thomas Ruff and an explicitly illustrated article on transexuals - not what you'd expect at a UK Travelodge or Holiday Inn. Not that I'm complaining as I think this country is far too uptight most of the time, but still a bit of a surprise to find.

Plus I'm missing not having time to include a crusty roll with cheese as part of my breakfast routine - and I'm not even back to work yet.

Oh well. We shall just have to save hard and make sure we get back there some time.

Now to listen to the new Iron Maiden album Dance Of Death which is sounding good up to track three...

Err, getting errors earlier and thought posting hadn't occurred - hence the test. Oh well, seems OK now.

Popped up to the new Makro cash & carry bulk discount type store this afternoon. Some pretty good bargains appear to be available there so I expect Joan and I will be back after payday to start stocking up for Christmas.

testing... 1-2-3