Category Archives: Work

Morning

I’m really not a morning person. I really don’t do mornings very well. Or Mondays. I don’t cope terribly well with those either.

And my post beer ickiness isn’t helping at all today.

Bean

My second in command cooked breakfast for Mr Bean the other day. I won’t say more than that because everyone deserves some privacy.

And this afternoon I bought a really nice bean salad from M&S at Kings Cross.

It was so nice, I consumed it too quickly. Soon afterwards, I developed a tickly cough, which returned back to the Northeast with me.

My second in command met me off the train and, after an (draught) Erdinger in the Union Rooms, we called off at the Tuns. Unfortunately for my second in command, our local have a pretty nice dunkel wheat beer on draught (interestingly, from Tyne Bank, who generally add fish bits).

So now we’re home. And I’m quite drunk. But I have food in the oven and about to watch part three of the German series I’ve been watching on Netflix. It’s subtitled, but I can recognise some words from my days of playing Command and Conquer.

Anyway, while in the Tuns, I began coughing again. Which resulted in the dislodgement of a bean which had been stuck there for some time.

I’ve not coughed since. And the bean tasted nice the second time around.

Office

I was quite happy with the rather outdated version of Microsoft Office that I’ve been using at work for the past few years. It hadn’t changed a lot since the 90s, apart from some cosmetics. Everything was in a sensible place and reasonably quick to use.

At home, I’ve been using Open Office or Libre Office for years. They’re nicer to use than the Microsoft package, but work in a similar way. Most important, they’re free.

But today my world has changed. At least at work. A rather beautiful new computer arrived today, with two large screens. It does all look rather nice, although I’ll miss Windows XP. I’ll also miss Office 2003 (or whatever it was).

While I only use Windows 7 at home for iTunes, I can tolerate it. But the new works Office (2013?) is horrendous. It seems to be an exercise in cosmetics rather than productivity. Hardly any of the familiar functions are easy to find and everything takes much longer than it used to. I know I’ll get used to it, but it’s not at all intuitive. I just hope that the open source alternatives don’t follow Microsoft’s lead.

And, yes, I needed to work late because Word trashed the formatting of the paper I was working on.

Trains

This really isn’t a great week. Electrical problems at Newcastle meant that my train was delayed. Then, because so many delayed trains were using the same line, it ran very slowly. So there was no chance of catching the connection at York, even though I’d allowed a big enough gap to allow for any problems.

I had the all to frequent decision as to whether to continue or turn back. I’ve chosen not to go home, since I should still catch the last couple of hours of the meeting. Hopefully, it won’t end early.

Brum

I’m having a pre-train pint of Maisel’s Weisse in the Wellington, in Birmingham. I now realise why I’ve had a déjà vu kind of day, thinking I’d been in Brum recently, but knowing I hadn’t. Until I came in here. Then I remembered a meeting around the end of last year. I ended up in here with a bloke from my team and had several pre-train pints. I think I slept the whole way home, which is unusual for me.

Anyway, I can recommend both the pub and the beer. Time for a second I think.

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Southport

As is the norm for me, my train journey this morning was not according to plan. One slow running train, and another broken down, meant a detour via Bolton (I’d never been to Bolton before). Meeting over, I have a few minutes to wait for a train. Seeing as it’s a lovely sunny day in Southport …

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Smedley Hydro

I’m currently on a train bound for Smedley Hydro. Well, I need to change at Manchester. I’ve never been to Smedley Hydro before, although I’d heard of it. It’s in Southport; I’ve never been there either. It’s only fours by train.

A bad day

I’ve had a really bad day. Work was great, but it’s been a long day and I had (the usual) train issues. But, then, I disembarked from the bus (the bus decides how my evening should end; the X1 takes me home, while the 56 or 57 take me home) at my local drinking establishment. And they have Anarchy ‘Rough justice’ on tap. It has no fish, so I had to have one.

I’m now on my fourth. I have yet to eat and I have work tomorrow. However, I have made a new friend. His name is Keith. And he’s a really decent bloke. We’ve had good manly conversation.

I should go home now.

Carlisle

Had almost an hour to kill between trains in Carlisle, so went for a bit of a wander (and a pint in the Howard Arms). I know I shouldn’t have been surprised, but the gorgeous old Victorian market hall is now a Wilkinson’s store, on the ground floor. A new upper floor accommodates TK Maxx. It’s good that a stunning old building is still in use. And I mean that. But, I have fond memories of that market (from the 80s); there was a great little wholefoods shop, at a time when such things were scarce in the North.

Anyway, the Howard Arms does a respectable pint of Stella (the real ale all contained fish).

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