We apologise for the disruption to your service

It's been just over two months since my last post. It feels like it's been a lot longer, but maybe that's because it's a commuting blog, and as we all know, commuting time moves more slowly than realtime. That's why a five minute delay always feels like at least an hour. I've frequently been held up on the Tube or Bus on the way to the office, not bothered to consult my watch and arrived at work panting and sweating and profusely apologising for being late, only to be met with a collection of bemused glances because its still twenty minutes before 9.

It hasn't been a particularly exciting two months, commuting-wise. There have been no major developments on the railways, although I did pick up a leaflet about how FCC is improving the service and will lay on something like 1500 more seats at peak times next year, which sounds very impressive. Although someone did point out to me that they don't appear to be legthening the platforms, which could render the extra seats somewhat redundant. Still, it will be nice to know that they're not just fleecing the passengers when the fares go up in Januray. The Leaf Fall timetable came in unheralded and barely-noticed (and isn't that a lovely phrase - so much gentler than "the Leaves on the Line" timetable or the "Just Call The Office And Tell Them You're Going To Be Late" timetable. People are still playing music too loud, yapping away on mobile phones and doing all the usual things they do to make their fellow passengers' lives just that little bit less enjoyable. And amazingly, given this cold weather we've been having, the bright sparks in contorl of the trains have put the heating on in the carriages. What's going on? Somebody at HQ clearly hasn't read the rules properly.

But, brilliantly, I realised the other day as I was coming back from work, the heaters pump hot air out of the ducts at floor level, and this rises up the trouser legs of the person sitting directly above them and has absolutely no effect on anyone else. And then there are vents just below the windows which let cold air in from outside and blow it down the collar of the person sitting directly below them. An inspired waste of energy, and clearly a design feature that was meticulously planned in the ensure that the whole ventilation system is as inefficient as possible.

Gosh I love commuting!