Cancelled trains, making friends, and getting home

Frequent travel, despite it being frequent, can be unpredictable. Today my train home was cancelled. Once upon a time I would have entered panic mode at a cancelled train and become annoyed, angry, stressed, and maybe even cried. But now, I’m inconvenienced yes, but I can totally handle it. 
Being a regular traveller has changed me. I used to make sure I’d get to the station at least half an hour before my train, all eager to stand around waiting on a cold platform. Now I’m the person arriving on the platform with two minutes to spare….plenty of time! The U.K. train network being the UK train network means that your journey planning doesn’t always go to plan, but you know what, this doesn’t stress me in the way it once would have. 

A couple of months ago disaster struck as my train from London to Newcastle was suddenly terminated at York. There’d been some sort of incident on the line and all the board showed was delayed or cancelled trains. Hundreds on passengers were left milling around confused, trying to figure out how to finish their journeys. Eventually an Official Train Person appeared and attempted to inform the throng what had happened and what to do. Except because the Official Train Person didn’t have a mic/megaphone/other handy voice amplifying thing, only about three people could actually hear what he said and the rest of us had to make do with sort of guesswork based on the actions and words of those three people. I got chatting to a nice lady about the confusion and found out she was also travelling North. Rumour was there was a train on a faraway platform about to leave.

“Do you think we’ll make it?” Nice Lady asked. I looked at the time, and carefully considered our epic run across the station, “We will if we run, let’s do it!” And off we went! Suitcases in hand, adrenaline pumping! The start of a new friendship bonded over train disasters! 

Unfortunately we weren’t the only ones legging it and I lost Nice Lady in the rush. I did make the train though! I made it onboard a packed carriage, organised a human chain to remove a load of bin bags so that more of us could get on, and eventually get home. Unplanned events and having everyone suddenly stuck in the same crappy situation can create a sense of togetherness that you don’t normally get on your 07:04 regular commute. We all squished in and made room for others as we wobbled our way up the tracks. The experience made us talk to each other and even laugh! Ok so some of it might have been uncomfortable laughter when the train lurching made us fall on top of each other but let’s not worry about that, let’s assume it was all based on kindness and joy! If we hadn’t had our human chain rubbish dump then there would have been no space for a lady in her wheelchair and her cat (yes, she actually did have her cat with her!). Being unexpectedly squished together means you get to meet people like Retired Train Guard who can tell you all about train signals and his holiday in Yorkshire, or Amazing Tracy who runs her own consultancy business telling rich women and celebrities how to be fabulous. 

The past few months have taught me that sometimes it’s ok to talk to strangers. I’m so much more independent and I can navigate myself through whatever journey I need to navigate. Like right now, my train home was cancelled so I found the next train to York and decided to figure out the next part when I get there. I have no idea when or how I’ll get home, but I know that I can and I will. 

So when my plans go awry these days I genuinely don’t panic. Yes it’s an inconvenience but chances are it’s going to be ok. 

Home is where the heart is: where my space is my own, but everyone can see my laundry!

Despite feeling like I live a life on the road I’m actually a home-worker. Our spare room was transformed earlier this year from a general dumping ground to a functional space for work and laundry! (It’s our only spare room so it has to do it all!) I have worked from home occasionally in other jobs now and again but I’ve never been based at home before now and to be honest I was a bit anxious about it. My main worries were about feeling like I was part of the team and making new work friends, I mean how do you forge bonds with people when you’re hundreds of miles apart? I’m usually travelling about for one or two days a week but a couple of meetings have been re-located or cancelled lately which means that last week and this week I will have had two whole weeks at home! I have not spent that many consecutive days and nights at home for nine months. I am loving it….but at the same time not loving it and after careful consideration I have concluded that there are some great things to working from home, but also some not so great things. 

Here are my pros and cons of home-working:

Pros 

1. My commute is about three steps into the spare room, maybe just one if I make it more of a lunge. No more sitting in traffic for me!

2. Due to my excellent commute to the office my petrol costs are practically zilch. I topped up my car at the weekend but I genuinely can’t remember the time before when I had to put petrol in. 

3. No clean work clothes? I can work in my pyjamas. My work wardrobe is generally either jeans and a t-shirt or leggings and an oversized jumper now that it’s getting chilly. 

4. I don’t really worry about wearing make-up either although I do pop on some tinted moisturiser so I don’t scare myself in the mirror. 

5. My space is my space and no-one pinches my stapler or dumps random paperwork on my desk. 

6. I can have whatever I want on my desk. Not that I have anything weird, I currently have some flowers from a friend, but I don’t have to stick to any clear desk policies that make you put all your stuff in a locker at the end of the day. 

7. I can put the radio on or off whenever it takes my fancy and no-one will complain. 

8. There’s virtually no office bitchiness or gossiping about people or paranoia that everyone in the staff room is bitching about you. 

9. I actually think I’m more social with colleagues now than in previous jobs. Because we don’t meet face-to-face very often, when we do, everyone makes the effort and I’ve got to know some of my colleagues really well socially. I was in my last organisation for two years and I can count on one hand the number of times anyone ever met up socially.

10. You know when you walk to work when it’s cold and wet and you have to spend all day with soggy feet? I don’t miss that! My feet are warm and dry in cosy slippers. 

11. I am always in for a parcel delivery! How I remember those days of having to get up at the crack of dawn on a Saturday to get to the post Office depot before the queue, pah!

12. Speaking of parcels, I can bid on my favourite eBay things when the auction ends at 11:23 on a Tuesday morning. 

13. I can get on top of the housework. Sticking in a laundry load or doing the dishes is a great way to get away from your desk for a few mins while feeling homely and virtuous at the same time. 

14. I can watch an episode of Criminal Minds on my lunch break. Nothing like the twisted mind of a serial killer to make you temporarily forget about that stress inducing project you’re working on!

15. My time is much more my own. If I need a bit of time for a doctor or dentist appointment it’s not a problem, I can just work my day around it. 

Cons

1. It can be lonely. I spend my breaks doing laundry and the dishes!

2. There’s no one around to chat to when you fancy a cuppa. My friend and I used to meet for twix and tea time when one of us was having a bad day. You know when you bite off the ends of a twix finger and then drink your tea through it like a straw?! Not as fun alone. 

3. There’s always that time, when you’re make-upless and wearing your most scruffy jumper when someone chirpy will randomly connect with you online and start talking about putting your webcam on so you feel more connected. Those people are to be feared. 

4. When you are onscreen you can’t peer into the camera and pull weird faces. 

5. And since my office is also where our laundry hangs to dry I always need to check that no knickers are in shot!

6. It’s so easy to spend all your money on eBay…

7. You need to be disciplined. I have no problem with working it’s the opposite for me and I need to be pretty strict about what time I log in/off so that I don’t spend every waking hour working. 

8. There’s no-one else to rely on when you can’t remember how to do something on excel or your printer breaks. It’s frustrating when a small thing turns into hours on the phone to IT support because you don’t know what you’re doing! 

9. You don’t get much exercise walking three steps to your office so you have to be quite dedicated to making sure you get out at some point to make sure you don’t spend your days festering indoors. 

So there you have it. Thus concludes my home-working investigation and it looks like the pros win! I do like home-working but I do usually travel a bit too and that blend works for me. If I didn’t ever travel I’m not sure I could do it all day every day forever, I think I’d probably go a bit stir crazy. Today though it’s cold and wet outside and I’m sitting in my jumper and slippers drinking tea while prepping for a webinar with senior colleagues tomorrow. Better put my laundry away….!

No-one to pinch my stapler here!

Good things come in small packages. Right?

I’ve been in a bit of a downer recently. There’s a restructure at work on the horizon which has been causing me some anxiety while trying to get on with a busy day job and planning a wedding. I have been trying to stay positive and while this isn’t always easy I am a firm believer that sometimes it’s the little things that can really make a difference to your day.
This week I have been firmly ‘off the road’ and have been home-based all week while my other half has been the one keeping the east coast train line in business. In the spirit of cheering me up, when he called last night he confessed to pinching me some of my favourite fruit tea bags from the function he was at….winner! I do like to have a few handy tea bags in my handbag for the days (and nights) when you get stuck in a crappy hotel that doesn’t provide such luxuries. 

  
Indeed I was cheered up and it got me thinking that I do like to keep a handy stash of ‘things in miniature’ for my travels. The thing is when you don’t know where you will be staying, you really don’t know what you’re going to get. So now when I do stay somewhere that has nice mini toiletries etc I take them for crappy hotel days. Great idea, except I have just glanced in my box where I throw said toiletries and am starting to wonder if my boy-scout preparedness is starting to become a bit of an obsession…..?! Um……

  
  
Some say obsessed, I say prepared. 

Next time your holiday suitcase is weighing you down with all your full size bottles of shampoo, or if you just fancy smelling nice during the next nuclear holocaust, I am so your girl!

Fancy a treat? Head to House of Tides

Last night the AA awarded their annual restaurant of the year. ‘Great!’ I hear you scoff, ‘another fancy restaurant somewhere in the middle of London where I’ll never have the time or money to go to!’ Well fear not my friend, this restaurant is a little closer to home for Northerners like me. The AA Restaurant of the Year in England is…..

House of Tides, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Hurrah!  
I do love good food and eating out, and it’s nice to go for a treat somewhere special now and again. House of Tides opened in February 2014 and is owned by Kenny and Abbie Atkinson. As well as the recent AA Restaurant of the Year, they have gained a host of other accolades over the past 18 months including a Michelin star and 3AA rosettes. My other half is a bit of a foodie so I took him there for a birthday treat in March 2014, not long after opening. Straight away we loved it. Since then the Quayside area where the restaurant is situated has undergone a bit of rejuvenation so it’s now in a great spot for a pre-dinner cocktail should one fancy! We’ve been back a couple of times…..it was where Chris proposed on my birthday last year and where he has just taken me to celebrate again one year on. Now it has special memories here I think I love it even more.

Firstly, I love the way they have renovated the place – it’s really tastefully done mixing the rustic old building with the odd comfy cushion downstairs and carefully spaced wooden tables upstairs. There’s also some beautiful artwork from local artists on the walls. Some restaurants serving Michelin star quality food can be cold and snobbish, but Kenny’s place is far from it. Apart from the amazing food, the relaxed and friendly atmosphere is probably my favourite thing about it. There’s no fancy dress code and the staff are really friendly (without being overbearing!) so you really feel like you can just kick back and enjoy your food.

  
Now, about the food… The philosophy at House of Tides is about locally sourced, seasonal ingredients. Because it’s seasonal the menu does change but I like this and that every time we have been it’s been something different. I love that this is a business working to support other local businesses too. My only (very tiny) niggle is the definition of ‘local’ as their listed suppliers on the website range as far as Norfolk, which isn’t exactly local to the Toon! Still, the majority are based in the North / North East area which is great. It’s pretty much a set menu here with a meat version and a veggie version, although they are flexible about swapping options over if you like all of one menu bar one course and I have taken them up on this offer before (being a bit of a wuss about oysters!). On our most recent trip there was no swapping going on – it would have taken a pretty amazing offer for me to part with that food! Every course was amazing. I mean really amazing, I know people say that a lot, but really, go eat it and see! I won’t list what we ate as I don’t think it’s much fun to know exactly what you’re going to eat before you’ve even set out the door but if anyone does prefer to know then it’s all on their website.

The set menu is six courses and is £45 for lunch and £55 for dinner but again there is flexibility in this if you don’t want the full six courses. Given the price, it’s not somewhere you’d go every week, it’s more of a place you would reserve for a special occasion. Still, considering we recently paid almost £80 for two courses, and wine for two in another TV chef’s chain restaurant nearby that was nowhere near in terms of quality, atmosphere, and general amazingness, I don’t think it’s outrageous at all.

Next time you have a birthday or anniversary or just want to celebrate life by tasting some amazing food in a down-to-earth place you must go.

Go, eat, drink, and I promise you will enjoy!

 

I would have taken a picture of the food except I gobbled it up instead!

 
House of Tides

28-30 The Close

Tyne & Wear

NE1 3RF

houseoftides.co.uk

Book review: The Photographer’s Wife

The Photographer’s Wife

Nick Alexander

 One of the main characters in this book is exactly who you would expect it to be – Barbara is the wife of a famed photographer and the story starts with her growing up in London during the Blitz. The other main character is Sophie, aka the photographer’s daughter who we read about in the present day as she explores her fathers work. Naturally, the narrative switches between ‘then’ and ‘now’ as Barbara grows up and meets the photographer, and Sophie tries to pull together an exhibition in her fathers memory. And of course, secrets are uncovered along the way for both of them. I personally enjoy the switching between times technique as I like to try and work out the mysteries that link the two together. Barbara’s story is really engaging right from the start. We learn about her life from a child in wartime London to life on the arm of a famous photographer in the seventies. The social backdrop to being a woman growing up in this era is key, and is thoughtfully explored here. I have no doubt that some of Barbara’s experiences weren’t uncommon for a lot of women during these times. The modern day story of Sophie isn’t as interesting but much of this is questioning the past and is really just a frame to pull the whole thing together. Some of the plot lines were a little predictable but that didn’t matter to me here because the book had me hooked! It’s a great story, easy to read, thought provoking….some of my favourite things to have in a book!

Edinburgh Fringe 2015

  
I have just spent an amazing weekend on the road for pleasure this time visiting the infamous Edinburgh Fringe Festival. I went with my other half and we’ve been every year for the past four years now so I’ve learnt a thing or two about the best way to navigate the madness. Here are some tips to get the most out of things, as well as a few of our favourite places to go. 
Get ready for a marathon 

Let’s be clear. If there’s one thing you need to get the most out of the Fringe it’s stamina. Edinburgh’s population triples during August so expect crowds and queues. It’s all in good spirit though – a crowd has unexpectedly gathered because they’ve become enthralled by a street performers, and queuing becomes a moving social spot to make new friends over a drink. Scotland has also had 24 hour pubs for years now so it’s easy to pop into a pub on your way home….find a show inside and you’re still there three hours later!

Got a show booked? Get there early. 

Ok, so there are literally thousands of shows so leave plenty of time to locate the right area your show is in, then find the right room. Your ticket might say ‘Underbelly’ or ‘Pleasance Courtyard’ but there are loads of rooms at each of these main sites. It’s not always as easy as it might sound but the rooms are all pretty well signposted and the Fringe staff are always super helpful. It’s also crucial to remember that most shows have unreserved seating so if you want a decent view its first come, first served.

Gamble!

I love that the Fringe welcomes so many diverse performers from all over the world. It pulls in some big names but with so many acts on offer it can also be fun to take a gamble on someone you’ve never heard of. There’s loads of free shows to see and we’ve seen some brilliant stuff that way. Then again….we’ve also seen some rubbish! Still, the diversity and scope of shows is fantastic so do take a gamble. Just don’t always expect to win! The official Fringe app is quite good for planning and the iFringe app has a great feature that tells you what’s on near you so you can drop by. 

  
What to wear

Another thing I like about the Fringe is that anything goes. Go to any show and you’ll find people dressed up to the nines mixed with those who look like they’ve just been for a hike so wear whatever you fancy. I would always advise layers. Yes, I know it’s August, technically the height of summer, but even on the sunniest of sunny days the North Wind doth blow! Most venues are hot and sweaty inside so I always take a lightweight coverup to throw on outside and strip off inside. And a waterproof will get used at some point!

Shoes

The rule is simple here, bring the comfiest shoes you own! Edinburgh is relatively small in size so you can walk to most places but it is hilly, and you will spend a bit of time standing around, especially if you’re last in to a show and all the seats have gone. Even on an evening I would go for comfort, I went for my fav wedges to dress myself up as heels and cobbled stones just do not mix. 

Shopping 

There’s some great shopping on offer in Edinburgh with plenty of variety to suit any desire or budget. Market and craft stalls are dotted about the city in clusters which are great places to pick up some unique products, often locally made. For Scottish souvenirs head to the Royal Mile for your pick of tartan paraphernalia and whisky galore. The Grassmarket has a Saturday market full of antique/second hand goods as well as some street food stalls, and some funky boutiques nearby. High street shoppers should head to Princes Street, and for the more fancy, head to Harvey Nicholls then along George Street. 

   
 Shopping bags

Since October 2014 the Scottish Parliament passed legislation that requires all retailers to charge a minimum of 5p for any sort of carrier bag. This was a shocker for us this year so it’s good to know in advance. 5p on one purchase isn’t a biggie but if you’re shopping it does add up, and some places may charge more than that (word on the street was that Debenhams were charging 50p!). Take a tote bag or something with you so you can pop your goods in there and be on your merry way. 

Food

There are so many places to eat in Edinburgh you really are spoilt for choice. There’s loads of street food on offer in St Andrews square or George Square and also plenty of cafes and fast food places. Breakfast favourites are the Southern Cross Cafe on Cockburn Street (can be hard to get a seat) or Cafe Keno on High Street. If you prefer a more formal restaurant in the evening I would always book ahead as you’ll be lucky to walk straight into anywhere decent. Amerone (St Andrews Square) is a popular Italian in a fantastic setting. Great food, great service, and cheesecake to die for. If you like fish then Fishers in the City (Thistle Street) is an absolute must. It is fish done well. Very well in fact, we go every year and have never been disappointed. This year the monkfish was absolutely amazing!

Drinks

When all the crowds, the shows, and the madness gets a bit much it’s time for refreshments. For coffee or tea you’re best off in one of the many coffee shops in town, but for something a little stronger there’s plenty on offer. Lots of the venues are either in a pub, or centred around an outdoor bar area so you’ll never get too thirsty on your Fringe experience! The venue areas are all really sociable and a great way to pick up tips about good shows from others. Most of the more traditional pubs in the centre of town have a variety of whisky on offer with a chance to sample some real rarities if that’s your thing (and you have the money!). If you’re more into gin then you have to head to Hendricks Emporium of Sensorial Submersion (George Street) for some gin experiences you will never forget! 

  
And finally…..

Relax and enjoy. It can be a bit overwhelming with so much on offer and so many flamboyant people in one place but just take it all in and go with it! You’ll have an amazing time, meet some lovely people, and have some unforgettable experiences. 

Review of Free Fitness Apps

Anyone who knows me knows that I like to keep fit. I go to classes at my local gym as often as I can, this week I’ve been to spinning, tabata, fast abs, bodyweight…whatever I can get to. Working away from home though, can make it hard at times to keep any sort of routine, and there are days when you’ve literally travelled hundreds of miles and in one day, leaving zero time for the gym. I recently spent 4 days away in one week, which is unusual, but also meant that I had a big gap in getting to any fitness classes. Soooo, I decided to load up my iPad with some free fitness apps that I could use to workout in my hotel room. The first thing I learned is that most of these types of app demand payment, but my one rule was that they had to be free! After a bit of searching I found four that I was happy to try out.

Here are my reviews:

Workouts

This app seems to exist in many forms; you can get an ab version, a cardio version etc etc but this general app seemed to be an all-rounder and have a bit of everything in there. Despite the unimaginative title I think this app is functional overall. When you load it up there are six different types of workout you can select: Ab, Arm, Butt, Cardio, Leg (these are split into workouts of 5, 8 or 10 mins) or a Full workout (this is 10, 20, or 30 mins). Pretty self-explanatory. I went straight in to the Full workout of 30 mins. You can personalise parts of this and set your weight and gender so that it will then tell you how many calories you have burned during every workout. You can also set notifications for when you want to do your next one. This is a pretty standard app with exercises completed for 30 secs or a minute before changing to another one. There are videos onscreen all the way through, and chimes to indicate when to switch what you are doing. I did like how it told you which areas you are working for each exercise, although I’m not really sure why they have included forward and back buttons….am I meant to fast forward my workout?! Overall this is a basic but effective app.

Pros: videos onscreen, info about which areas you are working.

Cons: Bit basic and uninspiring, weights used for some exercises, bit heavy on the ads.

7MIN Workout (by Johnson & Johnson)

The second app I tested was much more impressive! This was completely free to download and offers 72 different exercises as well as some great options to personalise. As with some of the others it can link with Facebook and Twitter should you wish to broadcast your workout to the world but I opted to keep mine to myself! To begin you can set your fitness level from five options between Beginner and Advanced. I went for Beginner+ since my fitness levels haven’t been great lately. Your workouts are then tailored to respond to this level and I was informed that my workout would feature a mix of easy and moderate exercises. You can also set your motivation level, but it wasn’t clear if this links to your workout in any way or not. Again this was interval type training and if you’re anything like me and need to be told what to do then this could work for you. There is an onscreen video throughout as well as some helpful suggestions to make sure you are doing it correctly but you can switch these features off if you don’t want/need them. There are clear beeps between exercises and you can play your own music to help keep you going. Overall this is a great app. It is easy to use, has clear instructions and provides a variety of exercises. For me, I didn’t find 7 minutes enough, but I did a few together to build up my time.

Pros: Onscreen video and countdown, can be personalised, really user-friendly.

Cons: The tutorial videos wouldn’t load for me (not a biggie though due to the onscreen video provided).

7 Minute Workout: Fitness for Women

Firstly, I have to admit, before I even opened this app I already had some beef with it being specifically aimed at women and therefore pink all over, but nonetheless, it was free so I decided to compromise my morals and give it a go. This app is easy to use and like some of the others you can use it alongside listening to your own workout tunes to keep you going. You can also set reminders, and all of your workouts are automatically recorded in the calendar which is definitely handy for keeping track of your progress. There are loads of exercises in the library on this app and there are video tutorials to show you how to do them. I personally found the videos on this app really annoying! There’s nothing wrong with how they do the exercises, but I didn’t like the fake conversations, and whooping that they felt the need to put in….just show me what to do, and neither of us will whoop! The workouts themselves are pretty easy to follow and based on interval training for seven minutes. There’s a countdown for each section and pictures to remind you how to do each exercise. One minor niggle is that it doesn’t look like your music ‘dulls’ when they call instructions or sounds the chimes to indicate the end of a round which means that I sometimes missed what they were saying or missed the change in exercise and no-one wants to do too many mountain climbers! All in all, this app was fine, but that’s it, I won’t be rushing to recommend it and I probably won’t use again, there are better ones out there.

Pros: Easy to use, video tutorials useful, onscreen countdown, calendar to track progress

Cons: Video tutorials annoying! Difficult to hear instructions over music, no onscreen video as you work, long break between exercises so you never really work that intensely, bit too pink and fluffy for my liking!

Sworkit Lite

This ‘lite’ version was completely free but you can purchase ‘Sworkit Pro’ which unlocks some additional features. I did not do this so have only reviewed anything that is available on the free version. Again, this was another user friendly app which gives it instant brownie points for me. This app has four main categories – Tone, Cardio, Yoga, and Stretch. You can personalise this one to some degree and add your weight in so that at the end of each exercise it will highlight how many calories you have burned. There is an onscreen countdown and video demonstrating each exercise as you work, and compared to some of the other apps I found the exercises here to be a little more intense, but in a good way – you get less of a break in between so you’re working more consistently. There is a link to some ‘sworkit motivational music’ but you need an internet connection for this. What I did like about this app was four main categories and the big thing was that you can select the length of your workout from 5 minutes to a full hour. It was a much better experience to set a longer timeframe and workout continuously rather than having to start a new mini workout as with the others. I also really liked that you get the option to add a warm-up and cool-down too. All in all, I loved this app and have already used it since. You can tailor it and choose whatever type of exercise you might be in the mood for – I recommend a blast of cardio then the Pilates after a bad day!

Pros: user friendly, four categories useful to target what you want to achieve, can personalise, onscreen video and countdown

Cons: need wifi link for a Sworkit playlist that links you to Spottify (you can listen to your own music though), in-app purchases to receive full functionality (but you do get a lot from the free version here).

General thoughts….

I enjoyed this experiment! I wouldn’t use apps to exercise in my room everyday, but it’s a great way to make sure you get a workout done when you’re travelling or working away from home. Your room would need to be a decent size for you to leap about / stretch / fall over so I would just check you’ve got plenty of space around you before you start! I think my overall favourite is Sworkit, but if anyone can recommend any other good free fitness apps add to the comments for others to check out. Enjoy!

Travel etiquette: some simple rules

The world is full of social rules that most people adapted to whichever culture they live in try to abide by. I live in the UK where we are all try to say please and thank you (even when we don’t mean in) and we queue politely so as not to break the rules, and we apologise profusely when some idiot walks into us. You know, just general social niceties that we do without thinking. I have noticed however that there are some people in this world who seem to forget all of these niceties the moment they set foot on a train (or plane, maybe boats too). I’m not talking about vast cultural differences or misunderstandings on account of growing up somewhere different, I’m talking about the annoying, arrogant, I’mtheonlypersonintheuniverse attitude that some people seem to adopt. Let me give you some examples. 

1. Space Invaders

There are unfortunate times where one finds ones face shoved up in someone’s armpit (that’s tube travel!) but generally I find most trains have adequate room so that you don’t need to come into physical contact with whoever is sitting near you. This morning I was opposite another girl on the train who didn’t understand this rule and felt it was ok for our legs to rest against each other as though we were a well-established couple. I tried to move, but whenever my little legs moved away from hers she saw this as an opportunity to just spread out more! No offence lady, but I don’t want to touch your legs with my legs! My personal space is reserved for a precious few, please stop invading me. 

2. The Spreaders

Similar to Space Invaders, a Spreader is also oblivious to anyone else’s needs and will spread out their belongings over every inch of available space. You will then find yourself squashed up against the window underneath a pile of your own bags and too afraid to go to the toilet in case your square metre of space gets taken by their stuff when you’re gone. 

3. Foghorns

I really wish some people would just hush a little! I’ve recently been opposite a couple who were clearly in a play together and decided to recite their lines in the train carriage at full theatre volume! Practice as much as you want, just please keep it down!

4. The Pornstars

The aforementioned couple clearly had something going on! When they weren’t performing their play they were putting on a performance of an entirely different sort! How lovely that you’re in love….how gross that you’re all over each other right in front of my face. Have some boundaries people!

5. Foot Free-ers 

Now this is a funny one because there seem to be so many people who do this I have wondered if I’m the one who doesn’t get the rule (gasp!!). In fact my other half has admitted to doing this on trains which cast some serious doubts on our marriage plans! Why oh why do people think it is acceptable to remove their shoes on trains? I know you’ve had a long day and you’re feet might be sore, but would you do this in any other public place? Say you go to Nandos or somewhere with your sore and tired feet….do you kick of your shoes and chow down your chicken in only your socked/stockinged feet? And for most people after they’ve had a long day, their feet probably smell, yes, even yours. Sitting in an enclosed train carriage with the pungent smell of cheesy feet is no fun, believe me!!! Just undo your laces a little to let your feet breathe but for the love of god please keep your shoes on!

  

Shoreditch street art

I love art. I also love wandering about and trying to spot fun or interesting things. I don’t know much about street art but a quick Wikipedia search tells me it’s ‘visual art created in public locations’. I’ve been noticing a lot of it so I’ve taken a few snaps to share. If you start at Old Street roundabout and head along Great Eastern Street towards Spitalfields Market you will see all of these, and others, along your way. If you have the time it’s also worth exploring some of the little side streets to see what they have to offer. Explore and enjoy!

   

   
 
   
 
   
   
  
   
   
   
 

Book review: You are a badass

  
 I like to read the odd self-help book but I’m not a fan of ones that give you a prescribed ‘plan’. I prefer those that give general good sense and inspirational advice and I would say this book fits nicely into the latter category. There is no ‘plan’ as such, although Sincero does frequently chunk up her advice into small sections so it can sometimes read a bit like a checklist. I found that format pretty repetitive unfortunately and at times a little annoying but don’t let that stop you reading this book because the good sense and inspirational advice that I was looking for came in spades. I don’t think there’s much new in what she is saying, but Sincero has a no-nonsense, everyday style that I could relate to. It feels like you’re reading a magazine, or chatting to your best friend, rather than receiving potentially life-changing words of wisdom. I mostly loved this book. I say mostly because there are a few bits I took with a pinch of salt. Connecting to the universe, praying and meditation I can understand, but I’m not sure that all of the suggested tips are grounded in reality…..e.g. just get out the credit card and buy the car you believe you should own and everything will work out dandy! I’m sure Sincero would say that my scepticism is because I don’t have faith in the universe or myself, but I haven’t made that leap yet and I’m not sure I will ever get there 100%. Still, if you’re willing to keep an open mind and feel in need of a bit of a pep talk to move your ass into action then I would definitely give this book a go.