Beautiful autumnal day. Raining. I’ve watered the greenhouse but that is all. I’m off on a jaunt to Brussels today and just have no idea what to wear 🙂 Shorts are perfect for when it is wet but there was one time I went and THG and I met the gaffer and his mrs in a posh restaurant. It was a hot summer and I was in shorts and Hawaiian shirt, natch. We were first to arrive but there was a problem. There was a dress code. This didn’t really become apparent until the others got there and it was then openly mentioned. I offered to nip back to our hotel to change but in the end they stuck me with my back to the wall and legs under the tablecloth.
I do quite fancy wearing one of my new bow ties but that means wearing a collared long sleeved shirt. The rain has muddied the waters so to speak. Were it not raining then a shirt and sports jacket with chinos would have been fine with the bow tie.
I think I’ve decided. Bow tie it is.
…
Coach E is empty. A few seats reserved further down the line. My table has no other reserved seats which is how we like it innit. The attendant just commented that it was obvious that the kids had gone back to school. V quiet.
Funny how life changes when the kids start school again. It’s as if someone has flicked a switch. Yay, school time again 🙂 Lots of larnin and hanging with your mates in the playground (ok yard). Homework yay.
A large crowd is held up at the railway crossing barriers as the train rolls by.
For lunch I have opted for the ploughmans grazing box which is reasonably good train fare (geddit?). The only trouble is I am not in the least bit hungry although it is early for lunch. Upped the mounjaro dose on Friday which seems to be kicking in. Just had toast for brekkie. Grazing is the right approach for lunch. I’ll leave the lettuce and purple coleslaw or whatever it is. Gawd knows how I’m going to get on in Brussels. I’ll have to insist on designer meals where the portion size is miniscule and you are paying for the art on the plate rather than the bellyfull. I’ll leave the grazing until I get nearer to Kings Cross.
Just passed a field near Collingham full of some plant or other. Green stuff with white bits. Almost as if it is just weeds. Couple of dog walkers going in opposite directions. Train slows almost to a halt as we approach Newark Crossing East Jn (thanks RTT) but then picks up speed again turning on to the main line and past the water pumping works.
All is calm.
…
15.04 Eurostar direct into the heart of Brussels. Coach 16, seat 25. I’ve moved mind you to the table opposite. I was on one of those single seats but an empty table for four is much more comfortable. You can spread out and there is room to have your drink on the table at the same time as your laptop.
We get in to Midi at around six whereupon I’ll find my way to the Radisson Red to dump my gear before heading out into the night. The Radisson is not my usual pad in Brussels. I normally stay at a Hilton but this one is close to the office and more convenient for hobbling there in the morning.
Listening to Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and a few other Beatles faves. The day it came out John Peel played Sgt Pepper non stop back to back for the duration of his radio show. It was the first LP I bought as a sixteen year old (or simlar). I was only five when it was released. One of the greatest albums of all time. groundbreaking.
The portion of champagne they just dished out was derisory. I noticed they’d given the bloke in seat 31 a much fuller glass so I asked them to top it up. Honestly!
As we hurtle south the rain seems to have stopped. It was raining in London before we entered the first tunnel and upon emerging blinking eyes into the daylight at the other end it was indeed sunny. We must now be in Kent. in fact we have just crossed the Medway. Bloomin zoomin.
The bald guy with the tattoos and a beard in seat 42 has just put his ipad away and has now opened his phone. It’s one of those folding screen jobs. I suspect he is looking at Spotify. Or a vid. He opted for one of those small bottles of red. I only have red when I’m eating and at three twenty three pm that ain’t apnin. Now he has two phones. One in each hand. That’s multitasking!
31 has nearly finished his champagne. Steady on boy. Long day ahead. Maybe he’s an alc. His laptop is open. In my experience people are often looking at business plans or sales forecasts or simlar when they are on the Eurostar. The connectivity is almost non existent so it has to be on some local doc. He has now finished his champagne. In the space of a few sentences. It’s not a race you know!
I didn’t bring a book with me on this trip. Mistake really, bearing in mind the aforementioned crap connectivity. This is because my current read, which is about the dissolution of the monasteries, is quite heavy in both senses of the word. So much info to take on board I often find myself rereading paragraphs. I’m only about a quarter of the way through it. Very interesting though.
We must be in the channel tunnel. It’s gone dark out. Unless it is a solar eclipse I wasn’t aware of. I’d surely have read all about it. Would have been all over the news. Mind you I do try not to listen to the news. Did manage to catch the shipping forecast last night. With THG being away there’s nowt to stop me sticking the wireless on if I am awake in the night.
It is reassuring that the shipping forecast is always the same. There’s always a gale somewhere. Last night it was Viking, North Ouitsera and South Ouitsera. Becoming cyclonic later in Viking. This is good to know. Essential actually. Especially if you were thinking of heading to Viking in your small yatch. Or even your robust fishing smack that can take all weathers. I’d probs be feeling a touch of the mal de mêr meself.
Seats 42 and 35 are tucking in to the meal. Number 31, he of the necking of the champagne, has declined. Ditto. I have some cashews and cranberries.
The Eurostar traverses WW1 territory. Large open fields with the occasional wood or coppice. I have in the past noticed war graves but you have to be looking out of the window at the right time. The speed of the train is in marked contrast with the pace of advance of those in the trenches.
As we grow nearer to our final destination a mist has descended over the fields surrounding the train. It feels as if it is getting dark earlier, which of course it is. Bloke in seat 35 is now on a page entitled Executive Summary. The iit is Total divestmentsc and dividends vs prior assumptions. !! Tbh I’m glad I’m out of all that. Bring on the History of Carmarthenshire, lakes, sheds, workshops and other non executive summary related activities. Not forgetting my morning swim plus the Thursday afternoon golf.
We have arrived in Lille, characterised by driving rain and a full set of 4G bars on my phone. Most of this trip has near to zero data connectivity. So little it isn’t worth trying. Especially the on train wifi where all the passengers share one already pathetic cellular connection.
When I get to Brussels I’ll have to get some dosh. Moolah. Euros. Taxis can be hit and miss when it comes ot credit card payments Whilst they are probably trying it on I don’t mind handing over the folding stuff. It’s one of the few times I use cash. That and paying the window cleaner.
They have just brought me a champagne refill. When I was discussing this possibility with the staff I jokingly suggested the glass needed filling to the brim. Fair play this is exactly what they did. A smile works wonders.
The area around Lille station looks a bit grim. Suspect this the case for many stations everywhere. Seat 31 got off at Lille btw. Someone has to I guess. The traffic on the motorway looks a bit on the heavy side, in one direction at least. Folk on their way home after a desk chained day.
All you need is love.