Losing it[1]

Two busy days in London, including a visit to the remote outpost known as Wembley[1]. Stayed in a different (but quite nice) hotel - I might try that one again. It was a longer walk from the office, but I like the exercise, so that’s not a bad thing.

Went to my usual branch of Pizza Express[2] and had an early night on Wednesday[3], then a good breakfast and a day of setting things up, moving things around and generally making things work. Not bad. Then headed off to Kings Cross in plenty of time to catch the 18:00 train home.

I think a lot of the usual business travellers must have been on holiday this week, as the restaurant car was only about half full. Quite different from a lot of journeys where it gets full and people are actually turned away. Had a typically good dinner and a wee drop of wine, and a comfortable journey home.

No weight report, cos I didn’t bother weighing myself while still full of dinner and wine

[1] Nice view of the building site of the new stadium
[2] For solo dining, familiar is good - at least some of the staff know me, they treat me well, the food is good and the wine is gluggable
[3] Head down, lights off by 9:30, but woke up and read for a while at about 2am[4]
[4] Worked for me…

Well, it’s far too early on a Wednesday morning[1], but my weight is down a wee bit to 203.2 pounds (14 stone 7.2 pounds, 92.2kg). I’m heading off to work in London for a couple of days, which will involve eating out and possibly[2] a glass or two[3] of wine, so I’ll probably be a bit heavier next time I report…

[1] Well, actually it’s moderately late on Friday, and I’m just catching up with the last few days, but I like to keep these things dated in sequence. It’s a convention of the medium, or something
[2] Defintiely
[3] That might be an undersatatement thingy

Finally got round to having the new servers installed in the rack at the weekend. We[1] took the opportunity to move the older servers to the top of the rack to make it easier to remove them when we finally shut them down later this year. But for now, I have a very nearly full rack of toys servers. One of them is even a test server - I’ve never had one of those before!

[1] I delegated

No weight report toiday, as I’m in London[1]. Had a fairly busy day in the office after the usual trip down[4], then had a quick drink with the London boss and headed to my hotel. I like it there, and it’s my first choice when I’m in London. What’s nice is that the rooms start from the ninth floor, with the lower part of the building being occupied by the BBC. Some rooms have quite stunning views over London[5], but this time all I could see was Barad Dur, ooops, sorry, the BT Tower[6]. Not really a problem, as I had arranged to have a wee drinkie[8] and a meal with my friend Martin, who just for once hadn’t fled the country on learning I was coming to London.

Martin called me when he got close to the hotel, and I joined him outside. I was pretty hungry at this point, so we went straight to my usual venue, the Pizza Express next door. We ordered a bottle of wine and had a nice meal. Martin then suggested we have another glass of wine each, which seemed like a good idea, so we did. He then led me further astray[9] by making me agree to another bottle of wine.

After that, I went back to the hotel and went to bed. Only to be woken up somewhere around midnight by the fire alarm. It didn’t stop, so like all the other guests, I headed down the stairs. Eleven bloody floors of the damn things. Can I tell you that it gets pretty bloody cold when you’re standing around outside a hotel in central London after midnight???

Anyway, a fire engine eventually arrived, some firefighters went into the building and checked whatever had to be checked, and then they left. All the shivering guests were then allowed back into the hotel. Back into bed at 12:30 or so.,

Managed a decent sleep after that, had some breakfast and headed into work…..

Another busy day, then back home on the train. Had a good dinner[10] and came home. Tired.

[1] Well, I say “am”, but I’m actually writing this on Saturday, so it’s more of a “was” than an “am”, but it makes more sense[2] this way, so there
[2] To me[3]
[3] I’m sure the thousands of readers can cope
[4] Usual very good GNER breakfast
[5] Some of my gallery entries have examples
[6] Hey, it’s a tower, it’s associated with the ultimate force of evil[7]
[7] Ask anyone who works with telecommunications in the UK….
[8] Possibly an understatement
[9] He’s a bad influence
[10] Didn’t quite have to use brute force to get a seat in the restaurant car, but it was close…

Well, not, as it happens.

Somehow managed to forget to weigh myself this morning.

Fun and games at work - the firewall in my office died when I had to reboot it, which is a bit of a problem as it means that none of our offices can receive any external email, and most of them can’t send any either. And lots of people who would normally do so can’t work from home.

Should be able to get things working tomorrow.

Definitely not up for any exercise this evening, but at least I walked to and from work today. Early start tomorrow[1], and probably another late finish. Lots more of that in the next couple of months.

[1] Another one

Up just a smidgen at 207.8 pounds (14 stone 11.8 pounds, 94.3kg) today. Had an early start and a long day at work. Had all manner of fun and games resulting from the work we did on Saturday[1], but it all settled down eventually. Didn’t have the inclination for exercise. Again.

[1] I’ll spare you[2] the tedious techie details
[2] All of the huge Losing it[1] audience

Ewwww!! Heavier again this morning at 209.4 pounds (14 stone 13.4 pounds, 95.0kg).

That shock horror figure was followed by a full day at work - yes on a Saturday, mutter mutter. But that’s the way with IT. Some jobs have to be done when nobody else is around. Full day’s work for the IT department (both of us), and guaranteed to be things to fix on Monday.

Having been to work, I then had to do my usual shopping trip in the evening instead of the morning. What an exciting life

Yes, it’s back into the routine of the regular visits to London. Up at some hideous hour in the middle of the night[1] to make sure I get out in plenty of time to catch the 6:30 train. It’s not so bad when the weather’s warmer and the mornings are lighter, but at this time of year it’s really quite horrible. It’s going to be cold and dark when I leave home tomorrow, and if tonight’s weather is any guide, it’ll probably be wet, too, which means I’m going to have to make sure I get out early enough to catch the ludicrously early bus[2], which means I’ll get to the station much earlier than I need to, mutter, mutter.

Then it’s the usual breakfast and coffee on the train, until I get to London[3], then the office. Lots to do on this visit, so it’ll be a full day’s work before I can leave for my hotel[4]. I’ll then have a bit of a rest, maybe read or watch TV or a DVD[5] before having dinner[7] and probably early to bed.

After breakfast on Wednesday, back to the office for another full day’s work before heading for home on the train[8].

Don’t expect any posts tomorrow or Wednesday…..

[1] 4:30am, more or less
[2] 5:40am, more or less
[3] 9:30am, more or less
[4] 5:00pm, more or less
[5] On the work laptop[6]
[6] Breaking the pattern of footnotes
[7] Most likely at the Pizza Express next to the hotel
[8] 6:00pm, more or less[9]
[9]

Back from another London trip. All pretty routine, nothing exciting to report. But it is the last one for four whole weeks, as I’ll be on a week off when the next one would be due, so I should get some rest…..

Ever so slightly forgot to weigh myself on my return. Ooops.

Well, the visits to London are now settling into a routine. I’m actually getting used to getting out of bed at 4:30am[1] once a fortnight[2] to catch the 6:30[3] train from Newcastle to London. Of course, the knowledge that I’ll get a good breakfast and lots of coffee on the train does help. Anyway, this week wasn’t too bad. Managed to get to bed reasonably early and slept well[4], which helps. But ewwww. At this time of year, it’s still pretty dark at 4:30, which isn’t nice, but on the other hand, seeing the sun come up and the sky brighten as the train heads south is quite pleasant, so I guess it balances out….

Had the usual large breakfast, lots of coffee. Arrived in London on time (or near enough), took the Tube to Oxford Circus[5], then walked to the London office. Said hello to anyone who was paying attention, noticing that once again I was there before some of the staff….

Did various not all that interesting IT tasks[6], including some remote control support for the Teesside office. Went for a walk at lunchtime, and got a nice[8] sarnie from Pret, as I generally do when in London. Sorted out some more things, discussed some other things with colleagues. Left at around 5:20 (or maybe 5:30, can’t quite recall) to head to my hotel. Staying (as I generally do) at the Saint Georges on Langham Place (next door to BBC Broadcasting House). Interesting place. Ground floor reception, then the actual hotel starts on the ninth floor[9]. This time, my room was on the 12th floor, and when I got there, I kicked myself for not taking my camera. The view was stunning. Much better than from the other side where I have been mostly, or even from the side bit featured in the gallery. On the right, I could see the London Eye, and turning to my left, I could see Canary Wharf, the Gherkin[10] and other such things. Must take the camera next time….

Later, I set out to meet Martin[11] for a wee drinkie[12] before being joined by Shirley[13] for a meal at a branch of Pizza Express[15]. We had a wee drop of wine with the meal, and then headed off in separate directions. Martin did give me directions for the quickest route back to my hotel, but I ended up taking a less direct route.[16] Anyway, the longer walk was good for me. Back to hotel, went to bed. Slept quite well…

Got up before the alarm on Wednesday morning, showered, floated around a bit before heading up to breakfast. The restuarant in the Saint Georges is on the 15th floor, and the view is quite impressive. From my table, I could see the arch of the new Wembley Stadium. Good breakfast, nice strong coffee.

Back to the office. Dealt with a few minor issues before taking a trip to Wembley, to clear some bits out of the office we recently vacated there. Got a closer look at the new stadium. It’s big. Really big.

Back into London, got some lunch, then back to the office. Sorted out some more stuff, before leaving at about 5pm. I leave in plenty of time to catch the 6pm train, as I always have a reserved seat on that one. Got to Kings Cross by 5:25, so went for a coffee and a sit down in the lounge. When my train was ready, I strolled over and found my seat. Then promptly left it to find a seat in the restaurant car. Good dinner - soup, steak, cheese, and a glass or two of wine. No problems on the way, and I was back at home by around 9:30.

And there you have it. A fairly typical London trip.

[1]
[2] Note to any funny furriners who require translation of UK English: fortnight = two weeks
[3] It takes me a while to get my head nearly together in the mornings, so I do have to give myself plenty of time
[4] The last time, I didn’t sleep well, which made getting up early not at all pleasant
[5] So called because there are usually plenty of clowns around
[6] Well, they were interesting in that I was making things work, but not really of interest to general readers of this page[7]
[7] Both of you
[8] Not as nice as the Subway footlongs I often get in Newcastle, but I did have that big breakfast….
[9] The bit in between is called Henry Wood House, and belongs to the BBC. I think some of the radio stations are based in there somewhere.
[10] One of the more interesting looking buildings of recent years….
[11] Hi Martin!
[12] This may have involved a few pints of Guinness
[13] Well, actually, his name is Keith, but we call him Shirley[14]
[14] I think it was because he once had an email address which had his then office location (Shirley) as part of the name bit, but who cares….
[15] Though not my usual one. This one was near Trafalgar Square
[16] I did not get lost. I was just confused