We arrived at Stevenaged with baited breathe (on my part) and did a mental 'whoopi!' as several seats become vacant
I am happy to say that I am now sitting down

Arrived at Kings Cross underground with four minutes to spare
I scaffled pass commuters with children, commuters with luggages, passing a lone police officer with his 'drug snuffing' dog and made it to the concourse with two minutes on my side
Every carriage I passed looking willingly through the window for a vacant seat.... I should be so f****** lucky!
So here I am standing on the five forty train leaving from platform six
Here's hoping I get a seat at Stevenage!
I certainly won't miss this journey.....and I'll be five thousand one hundred and eighty pounds richer!
I SEE BAGS! SHOES! RETAIL THERAPY.........and the frown on my face turns itself upside down (smile)

Standing at the Eastbound platform two, Piccaddilly line for Kings Cross......
BO lovers' spot near the door is rhe only'spot' for me
My face contorted and practically supported in between a tall middle-aged man's smelly armpit!
Nausea is taking over as I heave and gag.......then I spot a space and head straight towards it......not a moment too soon
In my world I would have projectil vomited all over the smelly B******!

I am sat next to a middle aged suited man playing loud music from his iPhone four
He gets a call and speaks loudly,through his earphones about..... hospital appointments, someone having 'man flu' and so
something being 'more expensive than their Bentley!' blah! blah! blah!
Directly facing me is a clean shaved (head and face) man also listening to music through his iPhone four (quietly, unlike my neighbour)
Sat beside clean shaved man is my female train buddy

08:14.........the train arrives and stops a few metres away from my feet. I pressed it's lit button, it repricicate by opening its mouth and let's us in
Left! Left! Left!
We find seats nearby and settle in for the fifty minutes fast train journey to Kings Cross, stopping only at Stevenage then non stop to Kings Cross

08:12......
"Good morning" chirps a female buddy now joining me at the edge of the platform
"Good morning" I replied
We talk about the humid unbearable weather that had us all tossing and turning in our beds the night before
We talk about the loud thunder that alerted us of Mother Nature's intention for today, talk about 'rumble in the jungle!'
Mother Natured teased with a few spot of drizzle and stopped
We British are well known for our love of 'weather conversing'

05:45........... Brrrrrrr! There goes my unwelcoming visitor, the alarm.....forever screeching, forever wanting, forever needing...... MY ATTENTION!
But alas this morning it's........arm stretched as I silenced it for an extra hour lay-in. Hence me standing on platform four at St Neots' station at five minutes past eight waiting for the eight twenty, sorry, the eight fourteen

I've just watched 'Cop Squad' on Sky 1 and I thought I was going to laugh myself to death
This one was based around Cambridgeshire constabulary and crime 
The one that had me in a fit was the 'joker criminal'
He eluded the cops by greasing his body, hence 'a slippery criminal' then days/weeks of searching high and low, he is caught, wrestled to the ground screaming blue murder.
On being asked "Have you got any injuries?" he replied "Yes, my dick" and I roared with laughter
Then whilst handcuffing his wrist behind his back a policeman asked "Have you got anything on you?" He replied "Police" and I doubled up in a fit of laughter!
I've never been entertained so much by real cops and criminals
CLASSIC!

We have now reached Stevenage

07:10............. As I walked down the last couple of steps to platform four, I looked down for familiar faces and saw a man and a woman standing at 'our spot'
'I see strange (dead) people' comes to mind
A minute later, I hear familiar loud heeled footsteps coming down the steps
"Good morning"
"Good morning" I replied to my namesake
We talk about the weather
"I hear it's going to get warmer from Sunday.......going up to thirty degrees on Wednesday" I said
"it doesn't bother me because I'm off!"
We continue to 'tennis' talk until the train arrived, enticing us into it's now opened mouth
We are spoilt for choice on seats
"Good morning" We said in unison to our sole train buddy from Huntingdon/Peterborough
"Good morning" he said, looking up from his newspaper
My namesake seats besides him while I sat across at the other two by two seatings

18:10..........platform one and sitting next to Mr Grumpy, a train buddy
We exchange a few unpleasantries before settling down to me reading the 'Evening Standard' and him reading (from his 'kindle')...... 'Sherlock Holmes'
Across to our left sits two other train buddies (the love birds)
Apart from the wind bellowing into the carriage, there is silence all around
An overheard scenario.......
Woman enters the train and man sitting at the two by two seats smiles at her and she smiles back at him
"Excuse me please" he says to a man sitting on his own with a vacant seat besides him
"Can we swap seats?"
I hold my breathe
"No........ I cannot stretch my legs sitting there" he replied
He stands for the woman to sit beside him....... Nothing further was exchanged
Well...... He had every right to be sat there so good on him!
Those two by two are awkward

Yesterday was a mixture of happy and sad times............ Happy news that the couple buying our family home has signed the contract and it's now official!
We're moving out of St Neots, Cambridgeshire, to pastures new
The sad........being at a 'Goodbye' bash for ex colleagues as we gather together as a Division for the last time; some leaving for good, others in their new post and some.........like myself, surplus and trying to secure themselves another post elsewhere within the Civil Service remit
We 'plan' to 'keep in touch' but time will tell
So you see, life is not always a simple ride.......but a rollercoster of lives ups and down thrown in to keep us on our toes
A family member from afar (Florida, USA) made a comment early this week........"Two steps forward, one step backwards"
Soooooo veerrrry TRUE!

It has been a stressful past week. I had organised the gathering of thirtyone members of my family to a seating at 'Cottons' Carribbean restaurant in Islington (nearest tube stations being Angel and Holborn)........ Exmouth Market EC1 to be exact
It was a milestone birthday celebration of a special person in all our lives and a good time was had by all.......
Both young and old...... four generations of two families fused together as; in-laws, parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, brothers-in-laws and sisters-in-laws.......

07:17.........Sat next to a middle-aged bespectacled man tapping away on his Blackberry..........well he was. He's now reading the 'I' newspaper
Opposite me is a male train buddy and beside him is............a vacant seat
Yes! You heard right, a rare sight these days!
There are only two other train buddies; my namesake and our honorary female buddy, the good doctor
We chat for a while before doing our own thing, some tapping on their mobiles, one reading a book by Peter James 'Read like you' I think its called, another reading the free 'Metro' newspaper

They were giving away free Nivea hand cream at Kings Cross...so I nabbed myself one........ It'll come in handy at work.
Standing room only on the Piccadilly line train
We have passed Russell Square and just leaving Holborn...
Covent Garden, my stop......up the steps and into the crowded lift

I watched 'Little Couple' last night. About an American couple; he was four feet tall and she was several inches shorter
What I admired about these couple was how they went about their lives. He was a business man and she was a doctor at a hospital
Their height didn't stop them achieving a career unlike some people who think the world owes them something for their misfortunes in life

There is only one train buddy on the train
We scrabble towards him, we greeted him before making ourselves comfortable
I am sat next to a sleepy head young female. Her arms folded tightly across her chest. I sit queerly beside her and listened in to conversations around me
It's funny how one can feel invisible amongst friends!

07:10........ Standing alone at the usual platform four spot......all alone
"Good morning!"
"Good morning.... Haven't seen you on this train for awhile"
"I've been taking the eight fourteen"
We converse until we were interrupted by two more female buddy, my namesake and Long Tall Sally
"Good morning!"
"Good morning!"
Then our banker train buddy arrives seconds later followered by another then another
"Good morning!"
"Good morning!"
"Blah! Blah! Blah!
The train arrives on time and stops, opens its mouth, welcoming us to several empty seats
The usual for most Fridays

06:40........mentally waved goodbye to the house and begun my twenty-five minutes walk to Sr Neots station
I met several dog walkers on my way........ Some greeting me as I pass, me reciprocating.......some just walking past me with just a smile and a nod
I spot just one female commuter on the other side of the road
There's a quiet air around me as I continue my lonely walk. The weather is mild but unpredictable and I know how Mother Nature can change..........from a sunny day to wet! wet! wet!

I am sat next to a muddleaged (I mean, middle-aged) man in dark grey pin stripped trouser suit, typing quietly away on his Samsung notebook. We are slightly dressed similar........ Well, maybe not....... I'm wearing a lighter grey pin stripped dress and grey cardigan....... so the only similarity is...... pin stripped attire

06:11........ through the barrier, up the steps, across the bridge, down more steps and onto platform four to join three train buddies
"Good morning all"
A chorus of greetings were delivered
"How are you?
"I'm well and you? asks a 'part-time' female American buddy
"I'm well too"
"So what's been going on in your life?"
We exchange monologue on each others life and before long, the train beckon us into our usual carriage......all seven of us
We were greeted by two more train buddies already on the train

I'm on the eighteen ten that didn't leave Kings Cross until eighteen thirty
"Blah! Blah! Blah! Finsbury Park"
"Blah! Blah! Blah! Overhead cables"
"Blah! Blah! Blah! No trains stopping at Finsbury Park!"
I'm sat by the two by two with three other train buddies
19:00....... Still not there

18:10..........the whistle us blown, the doors slam shut and off we go!
I am sat next to a bespectacled middle-aged, Jean clad man reading 'The Evening Standard'
Opposite front faced....... a female train buddy and beside her, Mr Grumpy, a fellow train buddy
Behind me sits my namesake and we chat Dow awhile before settling down to....... Read, snooze, text etc.......

It was a honour to have been invited and be present at this brilliant masterpiece, a first of many by this director..... I say, 'watch out for LaToyah Gill'
William Blake would have been proud!
Well done LaToyah Gill!

After many photographs and without further ado, the director, LaToyah Gill speaks and inform us that the first seating of her short film was to start
I was one of the audience for the second seating so I carried on mingling with the others
Twenty minutes and an artsy of applauds later, the room is packed again
I, like some others then made our way to the screening room, sat near the front and waited for rhe film to begin

William Blake's residence has a wealth of history behind it - only Tim, from the William Blake's Society, can tell. One room is littered with William Blake's thoughts.........written in Black and White, on the white wall
The room is now relatively packed with; actors, editors et al....... All talking amongst themselves, sipping red or white wine and nibbling titbits from a platter

Why Bond Street?
Well...... I'm of to the premier for 'The Sleeper' a long awaited short film.... written and directed by an up and coming film director, LaToyah Gill and young buddying actor, Sachar Moses-Gill
The premier is being held at the Institute of Imagination..... The
House of William Blake (a famous poet, artist) who once resided at 17 South Molton Street
London W1K 5QT

I took the Piccadilly line from Covent Garden station to Holborn, changed for the Central line for Bond Street station

A slight detour after work.....
Caught the underground from Covent Garden after fighting my way through the maddening crowd at Covent Garden....... nearly tripped over a female 'coffin dodger' (she must have been in her eighties if not older) and her trolley!
"Oops, I'm so sorry! Didn't see you!"
She said nothing just simply looked at me and smile

08:14......... On the train, sitting and chatting to a female train buddy
It's a glorious morning, fingers cross that it stays for the weekend
Last night I watched a programme that had me in stiches for the most part of it
'Prince at ninety'
I know........ I wasn't expecting this either!
Prince Philip is one heck of an hilarious old codger!
His sharp and sometimes wicked sence of humour is unbelievable........
For instance......a reporter asked him how he was.....
"Are you well?"
"Why? Do I look ill? He asked
Another female reporter was reporting at an event and whilst she was commenting about him, you can see him lurking behind her grinning and on ending she turns and is surprised to see him behind her
"Have you finished?" he said before walking away
HILLARIOUS all the way!
However, I do think that he should sometimes think before he speaks......... sometimes his sharp tongue can leave a bitter after effect which he his now reknown for

We were lead to a corner spot and a nurse came over, introduced herself and went through; confirmation of loved ones personal details, explanation of the day's event
"Blah! Blah! Blah!......anti sickness tablets
"Blah! Blah! Blah!......steroids
"Blah! Blah! Blah!.......chemo tablets
So much to take in!
I looked around and felt admiration for every single person there.........from the staff, the patients, their friends and families to the elderly man who I found out volunteered his time to make beverages

My day off work yesterday was emotionally exhausting!
Why?
I took a loved one to King George hospital in Newbury Park, Essex for her second chemotherapy treatment. It was like entering another world, another dimension where the peole......the patients have a common enemy within that binds them together
As I sat waiting for my loved one's name to be called, a female voice brings me out of my thoughts
"What has she got? She asked
And before I could reply
Mine's breast! She she added
"Bowel" I said
"First chemo"
"Second"
We exchanged dialogue until.....
"Blah! Blah! Blah!...... this way please@
"See you in there" I said to our new friend
We were lead into a room full of hospital staff, patients and their loved ones

05:45........... Up and out of bed and straight to the bathroom
06:40........ After sipping my morning Indian tea, curtsy of DOS from his stop at Delhi airport, I head out of the house
I could have got a lift to St Neots station but I decline the generous offer and walked the one point seven miles
07:11......... Spotted our honorary female buddy, the good doctor well ahead of me, then spotted Long tall Sally in the distance but too far to call
We finally caught up with each other as we took the final steps to platform four and joined our honorary female buddy, the good doctor.......all on his own
A chorus of 'Good morning' exchanged and before long four mour train buddies join us..............
07:17......... The train arrives, opens its mouth and let's us in
"Good morning"
Only one train buddy on the train. We huddled together and chit chat most of the way
I am sat next to a middle-aged sleepy head woman

On reaching the station hub we meet another train buddy, long tall Sally
"Good morning"
We exchange greetings and walk up the steps, along the bridge, down the steps and joined three more train buddies; my adopted daughter, our honorary female buddy the good doctor and another
The highlight of the conversation was Saturday's night out to a local 'Boggie Night' club
It seems like a good time was had by all

Just as I got to the end of Cromwell Road (or is it Gardens?)
"Good morning"
I turned to see my namesake getting out of her car
"Good morning....... I didn't see you there"
I stop and wait for her to catch up
"How was your weekend?"
"Good...... And yours?"
"Good...... got my other car back"
We walk and talk and she fills me in on the event
I talk about Saturday's Cambridge's 'Summer Fayre' aptly called 'Fun Day' this year (something to do with funds or lack of it - all politics!)

05:45........ My enemy, the alarm, woke me up abruptly!
I look out of the window through the slightly opened blind - to gage my outfit for the day - it was grey sky
After doing the usual in the bathroom, I put on my black trouser suit and light green silk shirt (both suit and shirt are from TM Lewin) and stiletto cufflinks
Last and just as important, I put on my face (MAC makeup), spray on Cerrutti 1880 and left the house
06:40........ My walk to St Neots station was interrupted by Mother Nature
Why?
Well....... Initially it was a trickle here, a trickle there as I continue to walk trying to ignore the inevitable
Then the heavens opened its gates and I had no choice but to get my umbrella out of my bag....... Not a nice way to start the new working day

The train has left the station, full but with just a couple of standers
It's loud inside the carriage not commutters but the heavy breeze filtering through the open windows....... a welcome breeze by all of us

18:13.........sat on the eighteen ten which is going........nowhere!
After running up the Piccadilly line escalators, running through the corridor and up the steps with a minute to spare, I was met with eagerly waiting commuters standing at the platform.......waiting for the train to let them in
In hindsight I could've, should've, would've walked!...... Only in hindsight!

Met a dog jogger merrily jogging side by side with his best mate, a mas's best friend, his doh
Stalked a man all the way to the station, always several metres behind but finally catching up at the station's hub and overtaking him as he deviates towards the hot drinks queue
08:14........ The trains arrives on time and lets us in
Left! Left! Left!
"Excuse me please, may I" I asked a woman who had parked her bag on the vacant seat beside her
She looks up, smiles
"Sure" she replied as she removes her bag
"Thank you" I said, sitting besides her
She goes back to sleep and in time her mouth is ajar and a gentle heaving of her chest ensues

The first alarm failed to entice me out of bed as I slapped it, silencing it's annoying voice, rolling over to my right side facing the window
Forty five minutes later and I was up with the rest of the St Neots who were going to make a living
07:40......... The door gently slammed behind me, big white sunglasses covering my still sleepy eyes from the early morning sunrays........my journey to St Neots' station has just began

I've been tangoed?
Why?
I'm wearing an orange dress (something to keep me alert and awake I guess!)
Anyway, I'm going to power nap now
My eyes are burning and my eyelids are heavy....... I just haven't got the stamina for late nights!
Ssssssnnnnoozzzz!

Anyway....... I decided to get the later train and had an extra hour in bed........ but I'm still tired!
I'm sat next to a thirtysomething year old man in jeans and black shirt
I am slightly envious of him
Why?
He's typing away quietly on his black iPad 2!

08:14........ The train has left the station taking me and many other commuters as hostages.
I am feeling worse for wear from my evening out to the beautiful elegant Sade concert at the O2 London arena. Did I mention she's got class unlike her fellow female artist both in the UK and across the pond (The U S of America)
Who think nothing of parading half naked on the platform and sometimes miming........