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The Light Side

"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe" - Roy Batty, Blade Runner (1982)

Posts tagged with "work"

Cordened Off

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I was at the office today in London, and the Police rolled up and cordened off the area. It was all a bit weird, but apparently there was a drain with smoke coming out of it (and has been all week, apparently this wasn't the first time the police and fire brigade has turned up this week).

We weren't told anything, but they eventually packed up and left, so I guess everything was in order.

Quality comes in small packages

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I spent the night at a Quality Hotel in Westminster last night. It sounds posh, and from the outside and in the lobby it looks posh, but it was actually round the back of Victoria train station.

I'm sure other rooms are OK, and to be fair it was a last minute booking, but I have never stayed in such a small room. It was actually my second room at the hotel, after I complained that I had been told I would have a twin and that I wasn't happy having to limbo under the sink to get to the toilet, but all they had were singles :frown:

The room itself was clean and there was a desk, wardrobe and of course a bed, but the bathroom was tiny, so tiny in fact I couldn't actually use the toilet properly. There was some other niggles too: the towel in the room looked dirty, the toilet seat wouldn't stay up and the shower was more of a drizzle.

But it was only for one night and it saved having to get up at some stupid hour to get to a pre 09:00 meeting. Just glad work were paying for it!

Birmingham Virgin

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Travelled back from Macclesfield early yesterday so didn't have a book seat (but did mean I could get a direct train and home about 4 hours earlier than expected). The downside was that the seat displays weren't working properly and what I thought was an unreserved seat wasn't.

At Birmingham I had to vacate my seat for someone who had booked it to Oxford and the train was packed. So packed you couldn't move between carriages and was a general nightmare with people wanting to get passed to get to the shop or toilet. It also meant I couldn't get a seat and had to stand, and whenever people got off at a station there was a frenzy to get their seats plus more passengers trying to get on :frown: Not fun at all!

By Leamington Spa I'd had enough standing and what with looking like I was going to have to stand till Bournemouth (about 2 hours away), I complained to the train manager about the seat displays. He was a nice chap and put me in first class for the remainder of my journey, which was nice :smile:

So all was good in the end. Got home earlier than expected and travelled in comfort.

Pott Shrigley

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Currently staying at a country house hotel in a place called Pott Shrigley, attending a work conference.



The hotel is high up on a hill overlooking Manchester.

Manchester Canal

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Stayed up in Manchester last night at the Jurys Inn Hotel. It's an odd place. Just off Oxford Road/Oxford Street, there's offices and large hotels and a little green coloured "traditional" pub and the canal.

Views from under Southwark Bridge

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Taken whilst in London last week, I have some spare time before a meeting at Ofcom

On the way to work yesterday I saw...

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travel, travel, travel

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Been about a bit these last few days. In Manchester Monday, then onto Lancaster in the evening. In Lancaster Tuesday morning, then home (took about 7 hours on the train) yesterday afternoon. Phew! The photos below are of Lancaster and it's Castle (which I walked passed on the way to the train station).

Room with a View in Glasgow

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Planes, Trains and Automobiles

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No, not a review of the Steve Martin comedy film but a reflection of the modes of transport I've used over the last couple of days whilst travelling up to Manchester. To be fair feet and bus should also be included in the list.