Weather blog

Good evening,

 

The journey to work was something of a struggle this morning.

 

As the weather had been relentlessly bad over the weekend with rain continuing to fall on already saturated ground & further filling swollen rivers & waterways, I decided that in order to avoid missing my train (Iateness is top of my list for Room 101) I should allow extra time for my drive to the station.

 

There was a lot of traffic around & although the roads weren't flooded, there were parts where standing water caused all vehicles to slow to the pace of a brisk walk, so I felt my decision to leave neurotically early was a sensible one.

 

No sooner had this thought crossed my mind than I spotted ahead of me a long stream of tail lights whose blinking redness hinted at delay.

 

The impotent rage of being trapped & stationary kicked in quickly & was worsened by the looming departure time of my train (of course today would be the one day of the week it leaves on time) & given a further edge of exasperated bafflement by the knowledge that the roads on this part of the journey are usually faster & clearer.

 

It turned out to be road works. Perhaps not the most accurate term as the road wasn't actually being worked on but had been cordoned off in anticipation. Temporary lights were demonically restricting the traffic flow with the net result that I arrived at the station in time to watch my train heading slowly but punctually in the direction of Waterloo.

 

The platform was cold, wet & windy but I can console myself with the prospect that, should I be late again tomorrow (beta blockers on standby), it will still be chilly but at least the sun will be shining....

 

Hope to see you later,

 

Robin 

 

London Tonight Tonight

Hello all. Good weekend, I hope?

Think I'm starting to feel a bit Christmassy. Not hugely, it's still November, but a spot of present buying on the weekend and a festive film last night and I'm definitely getting there. We had a discussion about when it was appropriate to start working our way through the Christmas DVD classics and we decided that we could just about get away with one last night. We haven't gone straight to the big hitters, obviously: 'It's a Wonderful Life' and 'Miracle on 34th Street' will be saved until much nearer the big day, but we did enjoy a quick blast of 'Santa Claus: the Movie'. Although it did provoke a few too many probing questions from my seven year old about the logistics of the big fella's chimney-scaling antics. So, with the first advent candle lit and the first presents bought and indeed returned (early duplication disaster), Christmas spirit has officially decended. Now all I have to do is maintain it for the next month...which may not be so easy.

Right, lots to get through tonight: We'll have details of more expected traffic problems in south east London tonight following the closure of the northbound Blackwall tunnel river crossing after a car fire yesterday. It's expected to stay shut until Wednesday.

Also, police are urging women not to make themselves easy targets for sex attackers as the party season gets underway. A woman who was raped outside the O2 Arena has spoken of her ordeal in a bid to stop other women suffering the same fate.

We'll look at the rising number of cases of people being ripped off over the price of secondhand gold - you could say they're at risk of being golden fleeced? Plus, we'll reveal the most complained about bus service in the capital. And, quite simply, one of the most successful British recording artists in history - Sir Cliff Richard is on the show - with The Shadows. What more could you ask for?!

See you at Six.

Matt and Katie.