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The first day after we close an issue always feels light. Yesterday we sent the last page off to be printed, and went for a drink to celebrate.

Today, then, was the start of a fresh new month with new deadlines, new features and reviews, and new things to do. It was also a day to smile. So, while M was out at a meeting K and I taped down the little button under the receiver of his phone. Put the receiver back in place, arranged for someone upstairs to call him, and waited for him to return.

He did, and for fifteen long minutes the phone didn’t ring. But then it did and he picked it up and said hello, and looked surprised when there was nobody there. Then, as the button was still pressed down it rang again. And again. And again and again as he spotted the problem pulled at the tape to peel it away. He laughed as much as we did, which couldn’t be said for the woman on the train tonight.

We’d been sitting just outside Stratford for three or four minutes, the sun still streaming in through the window thanks to the hour change, when suddenly a squarking voice announced that the 25th was no good because it was her mother’s birthday.

There was a general shaking of heads. One person close by said ‘I can’t believe it’, but then a voice from the furthest end of the carriage called out to wish the woman’s mother happy birthday and the whole carriage collapsed into uncontrollable laughter. Everyone, that is, but the woman on the phone, who continued her loud, intrusive conversation as though nothing had happened - all the way back to Shenfield station, 30 minutes further down the line.

Gym with Kevin this evening, feeling hot and tired. I think perhaps they’ve still got their heating on the winter setting, because it’s way too hot in there for comfort.

Bumped into Jon in the changing room, who pointed me to the fact that Great Eastern has not qualified to have its rail franchise for our line renewed next year. That certainly brightened my evening. Came home and sent notes to the Strategic Rail Authority expressing my support of their decision, and to GB Railways, who run the Anglia trains on this line, and who is one of the three qualifying bidders, to wish them luck.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 2nd, 2003 at 11:20 pm and is filed under Journal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.