Thursday July 21, 2005

EU railway bureaucracy

• Posted by Rob (#1) on July 21, 2005 12:21 CEST

If this isn't the supreme evidence of EU centralism, bureaucracy and nonsense, then I wouldn't know what is: just to take a train to London, I will have to transfer at Brussels and will travel through France tomorrow.

With the EU joke out of the way, read on for the actual trip forecast.

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Trip forecast

• Posted by Rob (#1) on July 21, 2005 12:28 CEST

I did my laundry, prepared the England stylesheet to be launched over the next few days, purchased tickets and fresh condoms, I'm ready for my trip to London.

Croissants for breakfast tomorrow morning in Brussels. Then the eurotunnel, then Waterloo Station. Hoping for another heatwave, but the forecast tells me it's sunny today, a bit sunny tomorrow, showers on my birthday and plain rain on Sunday. Huzzah.

Not looking forward to:

• Not seeing Rach. I'm very, very slowly starting to cope, but it's still very hard. Did some random browsing on my phone and looked at some pictures of her.. she is so stunningly beautiful.

Looking forward to:

• Spending hard-earned cash on clothes.
• Going to a gig with Isy.
• Ian told me the barbeque burger is still at KFC. Wonderful.
• Bringing home tons of Kettle Chips crisps S+V and the ones with crushed peppercorns.
• Geting so absolutely smashed on my birthday that the next morning I won't be able to remember if I pulled or not. Not unlikely I will.. I badly need some rebound sex. Public rebound sex even, I want to show the girls all four corners of Hyde Park. In the rain, I suppose.

Not looking forward to:

• That awkward phone call in nine months time.

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New London terror attacks?

• Posted by Rob (#1) on July 21, 2005 15:10 CEST

While testing SMS games over a live TV feed, I recognise London and British cops. "Hey guys, turn up the volume".

Apparently there haven been some new "incidents". Shepherd's Bush, Warren Street and Oval tube stations have been evacuated and a bus had its windows blown out. The Beeb mentions minor blasts but no confirmed injuries. The bastards responsible deserve a good public hanging at Tyburn Tree like the good old days, perhaps with some torture first, to warm the crowd up.

Shouldn't be long until mom rings.

Still going tomorrow, of course. Although I'm trying really hard to collect the pieces of my heart and put all bits back together in one piece, there would be a nice poetic tragedy in having the rest of me blown apart as well, right?

Update 17:31: one or two injured, but possibly the injured person was the one carrying the detonator. No word yet on whether actual bombs failed or there were none, in which it's just a bunch of copycat morons or very incompetent people.

Mom did indeed call soon and doesn't want me to still go, while I stick to the "I'm already shattered" emo mood as well as the "bombings? gee, it must be Thursday, *sips tea*" calmness.

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Crazy Frog baseball

• Posted by Rob (#1) on July 21, 2005 16:11 CEST

I hate Crazy Frog. I love baseball. Combine the two and you've got Crazy Frog baseball! Hit that annoyance hard!

(Requires Flash which I don't even have installed. But I hear it's great fun!)

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Perhaps I'll take cabs..

• Posted by Rob (#1) on July 21, 2005 18:37 CEST

I'm off to the pub for a good-bye and then to bed as I have to be up early.

I just realised I will only need to take the Jubilee and Central line (Waterloo - Bond St - Notting Hill Gate) to my hotel tomorrow (including a short walk due to the Queensway closure). Business as usual provided Waterloo tube station is opened.

However, all the incident-related closures probably mean that getting to Brixton will be hell tomorrow. Oxford Circus station is closed so I can't take te Victoria line there. An alternate itenary would be possible with four instead of two tube lines though: Central to Bond Street, Jubilee to Westminster, District to Victoria and then the Victoria line to Brixton. But at the moment Westminster is also closed. Londonist has te LFT summary:

Oxford Street station is currently closed "and will be for some time".

Other closed stations are Great Portland Street, Westminster, Waterloo, St Paul's. Waterloo tube station and King's Cross Thameslink are closed for the moment.

Sigh.

Anyway, text me your picture requests all weekend (first trip with the new camera phone). Text me birthday wishes on Saturday. My numbers are on my contact page (use the UK number from noon Friday until tea time Sunday).

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