Autumn

Autumn is one of my favourite seasons (second only to Spring). It might be the season of perpetual drizzle, grey mornings and the 'do I need to wear a coat?' dilemma, but it is also the season of knitted jumper wearing, good television programmes and the excuse to stay in and watch said programmes! 

Without wanting to sound like Pollyanna, here are some of the things that are currently bringing a smile to my face this Autumn:

• Having a newly qualified hairdresser sister – hello, free haircuts for life;
• Finally seeing a genuine famous person on the tube – it doesn’t matter if he’s now in Holby City, he was once in Harry Potter, Lost in Austen AND Spooks!;
• Long phone calls with faraway friends;
• Photographing everything, you can never have enough photos of Tower Bridge;
• Writing - I’m not very good at sleeping so instead I write, doesn't really solve the being tired problem though...;
• Typewriters;
• Being greeted most mornings with ‘hello baby’ from a drunken old Irish man in Stockwell;
• ‘One Day’, ‘Jane Eyre’, ‘The Help’ and ‘Wuthering Heights’ all being turned into films;
• Making grand travelling plans that will most likely never happen;
•           Detecting - I like to think of myself as filling the void between Nancy Drew and Miss Marple. I am yet to unearth any major crimes but just give it time...;
• The ‘Instagram’ app - good for making photos look pretty and cheaper than buying film for Polaroid cameras;
• And, this poem by Kitkat Pecson:  "I think of you in the in-between spaces. In the pause before the next heartbeat. In the clench of my chest before I exhale. In the swell of courage before I say hello. And perhaps one day, our lives will occupy one space. Touched shoulders. Clasped hands. Shared secrets."

'Instagram' magic.

Trains and Tribulations

Yet another lapse in posts. No excuse other than that I've not had much to write about. Even this is scraping the barrel. 

I've recently started an internship in London, which involves around 3 hours of commuting a day. This is probably a lot less than many people but having spent my 3 years in Reading having to walk for no more than 15 minutes to get to lectures it has come as quite a shock to the system! I seem to spend much of these three hours thinking about how tired I am, reading the Metro, avoiding awkward eye-contact with other passengers, watching as they scramble for seats and marvelling at how much of a rush they all seem to be in. These suited and booted, briefcase wielding fellow commuters walk faster than I can run, and yet it seems so effortless. I have yet to master this art, with my morning power walk to the station tending to leave me looking far less cool and with a massive stitch. It's my aim, in time, to get from the train to the tube in 4 minutes flat, with not a hair out of place and still possessing the ability to breathe.

One of the sights to be seen on public transport.

The downsides of using public transport are well documented but it is excellent for people watching, a luxury you don't get if you're driving. So far in the past week I've seen various lookalikes, including Matthew Kelly, my dissertation supervisor and Don Gilet. Another of my favourite activities is guessing people's professions: today I saw a Youth Worker (grown man wearing a back to front baseball cap) and Mancini's right-hand man (a fairly large man wearing a MCFC jacket). Both of which I feel are almost certainly correct. I'm hoping one day I see an actual celebrity or at least something interesting but in the meantime I'll stick to entertaining myself with these pointless activities. Or, maybe I'll actually remember my book in future!

Probably recommended by Richard and/or Judy.