I shouldn't be surprised...

[nineveh_uk]

That it is very gloomy at half-past three on a cloudy November afternoon, and yet as so often I am. And resentful. Though at least the cold snap has improved my sleep, if not my heating bill. Going into the office one morning a week still feels like a slog and I'm far less efficient in the following afternoon, but at least it is warm. The trees, which looked lovely at the weekend visiting antisoppist, are now increasing denuded of leaves, and this weekend's combination of hold and wind will probably finish them off. Winter draws on, as my father would say. Which turns out to be a song... Here's Gracie Fields.

Watch on YouTube

They don't make 'em like that any more.

Comments

[azdak]

The cold makes a huge difference to my ability to sleep, as well. I've been dropping off the moment my head hits the pillows since the temperature went down (which is just as well because while The Book of Koli vol.1 was delightful, vol. 2 was less so and vol. 3 was all war and fighting and I gave up three quarters of the way through (though I did check that the expected happy end was achieved). I like my post-apocalyptic dystopias rural, not full of fighting machines and aggressive fascists.

[nineveh_uk]

Sorry you have also been suffering that one! I do OK at the falling asleep, but wake up warm early, as the temps outside start to rise. I am sorry that The Book of Koli's post-apocalyptic dystopia has become unappealingly fascist, that's a real shame at the end of a series you've been enjoying. I have just acquired She Who Became the Sun and am looking forward to that once I finish some current slumming it with Harry Potter.

I have also identified the worst possible reincarnation for Emperor Xiao Xuan - trapped attempting to book Christmas train tickets in the UK. It has taken me the better part of two evenings and I nearly gave up and flew home, except the last couple of times I did that it was even worse! It would be utter hell for a man who probably hasn't wiped his own arse in 30 years.

[azdak]

I hadn't thought about the arse-wiping thing but you're right, there must be an Imperial Bottom Washer, and it's probably a prestigious, ahem, position that the eunuchs intrigue to the death over.
We're spoiled rotten here in Austria, where we not only have an extremely functional rail service that's dead easy to book, we also now have (since the end of October) a Magic Ticket which for a mere €1000 a year (payable in monthly installments at no extra cost, cheaper for those under 25) allows you free travel on all public transport, including EC and IC trains. You don't have to book at all but there is an app that lets you reserve seats for €3 a pop if you want. However, I share your frustration as Tashi and I are hoping to make a flying visit to the UK next month to be with my mother for her 80th birthday and figuring out how to get hold of some kind of transport ticket that will let us get the bus from the airport to her house has been an exercise in stress, frustration and extreme expense. Today I go to the bank to see if we can use our cashpoint cards as contactless card on the LT travel system (in which case I will have to reactivate mine as I had the contactlessness switched off), but if that doesn't work, it looks as if we will have to pay well over a hundred quid for pre-loaded visitor Oyster cards. Why would a country that earns so much from tourism make it so hard for tourists to get around?? I suppose for the same reason they make it hard for their own citizens to book train tickets - sheer incompetence and greed.

[nineveh_uk]

The Magic Ticket sounds amazing. What a brilliant idea for encouraging people to use public transport really regularly. I remember Austrian trains having a reasonable website as well, as opposed to NationalRail not actually having a booking function...

It's great that hopefully you'll be able to get over to see your mother (and let's face it, the chance of the UK government instituting a lockdown right now is zero), but I'm sorry you're having issues sorting out the local transport. "Sheer incompetence and greed" pretty much covers it, I'm afraid. Would just getting a 1-day travelcard on arrival be an option?

[azdak]

Technically, yes, but a one day travelcard costs over 18 quid and all I need on day one is 1.55 bus ride to my mother's house. And you can only buy them at tube stations and Visitor Centres, neither of which Heathrow has, so I would have to transfer from Heathrow to the tube station and then back, or else take complicated journey involving the underground and 2 buses. My brother-in-law flew down from Scotland with his two children once and was thrown off the bus because you can only use your contactless card to pay for one fare and obviously the kids didn't have their own cards. They ended up having to get a taxi. This is not a city that wants to make it easy for tourists. HOwever, all should be well now - Tashi and Michi have contactless cards and I have ordered one and we've all opened LT accounts to make doubly sure it will work. But what a faff!

[nineveh_uk]

you can only use your contactless card to pay for one fare and obviously the kids didn't have their own cards

That is absolutely insane. But I am glad that you are all over 18 and have found a solution.