The Rich And Complex Tapestry Of Life

I bus and run to work, and somehow manage to avoid a soaking by timing my bus journey (accidentally) to coincide with the main downpour of the morning.

After work I'm out in Derby with some old school friends and I would have cut through the train station but you're not allowed to do that anymore. They have now put up electronic barriers that stop you going through the station unless you have a ticket.



A lot of people are up in arms about this because it means that you can no longer meet people off the train or help your elderly relatives down to the platform with their heavy luggage. The aim is to stop fare dodgers or rather to help the rail firms save money by not having to check your ticket on the train, whether this will work or not remains to be seen. They have issued a lot of passes for people who have a valid reason to be exempt from this. Apparently I am one of them and work has issued me with a form to get myself a pass unfortunately I haven't done so yet, so I have to walk the long way round by the road tonight.

It’s also not just Derby because Nottingham has simultaneously introduced the same system.

Our night out goes well although we can’t go in the pub that we had intended to because Buzz Lightyear, Elvis and Fred Flintstone are propping up the bar, whilst Betty Boop, Marilyn Monroe and Alice In Wonderland look on. Having no wish to involved in that sort of do, we go elsewhere.



We’re not sure what the occasion was but it's a tenuous link that leads us on to talking about school reunions and what if we had one. Who would we most want to see again. Naturally, and rather juvenilely, a list of the best totty from the school is produced. This of course is a waste of time because a lot of those will have turned in to their not-so-tottyish-mothers by now and whilst some of the least desirables will probably now have transformed themselves and become most desirables. This is, of course, part of the rich and complex tapestry of life... but it would be good to find out who turned out well though wouldn’t it.