Tower Bridge Closed to Traffic...

A very rare occurrence, unfortunately caused by a road traffic accident on the south bank (which no-one would wish for), but an unusual opportunity presented as a result, to walk across Tower Bridge, in the middle of the road, in the middle of rush hour (at the start of my commute home last night)...

The only real way to get to London Bridge (with any sense of urgency) was to walk, everywhere else was gridlock or chock-a-block...I'm pleased I took the walking option...quite beautiful... ;)

What a lovely bank holiday weekend!

I think we got a bit carried away with Thomas starting preschool in a weeks time and went to Crawley to buy him a new bag, drinks bottle, joggers that will be comfy and easy to wash and then discovered his feet have grown so new shoes were also added to the list...he was so excited to be shopping...especially as he has a Lightening McQueen rucksack that is almost as big as he is from his all time favourite movie - "Cars"!

Fink and I pondered whether to buy the T-Shirt or Sweatshirt that goes with the Preschool and I've started to explain to him that Mummy will be leaving him with his teacher (Nicole) and then going home and he replies 'Thomas play with trains and cars, then mummy come collect me'. Having only left him with close friends or family thus far, it's going to be really hard walking out and leaving him there (especially as he will probably cry), but its all good for his independence and I consider myself very lucky changing career and being able to watch every step of his development since birth.

Late Saturday afternoon, a very tired, overexcited little boy fell over a toy train and hit his head on a dining room chair. Catching the bit just above the eyebrow, it bleed quite heavily so a trip to A&E was called for (thankfully we live so close and can walk there!). Here our wounded soldier, given some butterfly plasters and a Lion shaped sticker for bravery and was then discharged.

Sunday and Monday have been a lot more relaxed...we've almost cleared the spare room and the next phase will be stripping wallpaper ready for the new little one...exciting times!

Slippery Surfaces - Canary Wharf

It really looks like fog doesn't it? It wasn't though, it was extremely dense but very fine rain, you know the kind...you think "Well, this isn't too bad" and five minutes later it's like you have been standing in the shower...this lead to some absolutely *deadly* conditions on the highly polished surfaces around "The Wharf", especially as I have just given up on my nice black Nikes (they had developed several new ventilation points over the summer, which in the words of the immortal song are now "letting in water") for a pair of quite nice grey and flourescent orange Vans, which unfortunately don't possess much in the way of grip (strange considering they are a popular shoe of choice for the "sk8terboi" set)...alright normally (as long as I am near something I can grab on to) but this morning the train was cancelled from Earlswood (only the second time since I changed hours) meaning I was in a bit of a hurry - actually, it's always bothered me that...in places where moisture is occasionally inevitable, why voluntarily put down shiny hard surfaces? Like *all* Spanish bathrooms being fitted out with shiny tiles for example? Yes it looks pretty, but the potential for accidents is high (I slipped practically every day getting out of the shower in Mexico until I remembered to put a towel down before I started), do these property managers want to get sued?

Anyway, like the towel outside the shower, I've got a bit of a method worked out now to dry the soles quickly and stay under control, as I come off the wet (and perfectly grippy) pavement and onto the slippery concourse I propel myself a little like an ice skater, skidding in a fashion whereby I don't actually lift my feet off the ground, it only takes 4 or 5 little "slides" until I feel the grip start to return...admittedly it probably looks absolutely ridiculous, but I don't care about that one jot as long as I stay upright... ;)

Pentonville Road closed - Accident

The train got me in to Kings Cross Thameslink quite early today (despite being late to leave Redhill by a few minues), my ticket wouldn't work in the barrier for some strange reason, meaning I had to queue up to get it checked in the procession of people either being issued fines, charged extensions or holding/dragging massive suitcases which gave me a minute or two peering out the window in boredom...then it struck me...the road was empty...bit odd...got out and the flashing lights hit me like a brick, the road was closed (shades of 7/7 reared up in my mind, so I grabbed my phone, only camera with me, and took a few snaps as I followed the trail of police cars to the source of the emergency)...

I passed 5 or 6 police cars blocking the road and offices directing traffic away from the Pentonville road -

- which was startling in it's appearance, not crammed with rush hour traffic -

- as I got nearer (I could see 8 or 10 police vehicles and a load of police tape just up the hill) I started hearing people talking about helicopters, and just then a Virgin air ambulance shot up from behind a building to my right, the rotor sound was obviously baffled until it came into direct line of sight to me and headed at speed northwards...

My curious nature got me in trouble this time, and I saw something I really didn't want to, it was a battered, dusty ten wheeled truck, the kind used to move tons of hardcore around for building sites, behind it in the road a tangle of metal with a bent bike wheel sticking out of it at a strange angle (could have been one or two bikes, it was impossible to tell it was so crushed)...and just being covered with a silver sheet was the totally mangled body of a young girl (no more than 10 or 12)..."Rosie" I gathered from the wails of her school friends as they clung to each other in confusion, desperation, devastation and horror...

I staggered away, my sense of reality robbed from me just as a member of the family was jogging, still perhaps none the wiser, up the road towards the police yelling out "I'm here, I'm family, now what's happened?"...

Can't make any judgement, as I don't know all the facts (just what I saw) but regardless - Sleep tight little one... :(

Exploding Smoothie!

Wow, we had one go off in the office (in the ladies loo), so Renemy went in to take a quick snap for me - this was the ceiling after the cleanup operation, so they really do go off with quite some considerable force, apparently it was a right mess to begin with ("I thought someone had been shot" was one quote)!!

According to Metro 100,000 of these lovely healthy drinks have been recalled!

If you got one, put it safely somewhere...(away from anything you care about)...scary! :0

Camping toilet leak

...can't believe I forgot to mention this before...hehehe....back to the 30th Aug (yes, sorry, back onto the holiday *again*, work *should* have started to simmer down a bit now, so I might actually be able to find some time in my evenings I'm not either working or completely exhausted to catch up a little bit!) - I had the distinct pleasure of watching the occupants of the number one noisy tent in the field (the second most noisy had a higher volume, making their own music (with bongo and sitar) but only managed to keep it up for very brief sessions (before they collapsed into dope fuelled stupor) or so I speculate)...the slightly quieter, but *prolonged* party tent which had been rather irritating to Flyingpops' Pop (being used to a nice quiet field, apart from his party awning of course, which is excempt ;) had a *little* bit of an accident...

Namely a noisy and rapid *emergency* tent evacuation caused by pungent effulgent forming a river through (and over) the occupant's feet and possessions from a malfunctioning camping toilet stored in the trailer tent (slightly uphill)...cue much screaming of children, panicked running adults with sorbent paper and leaking plastic sewerage containers, the elderly holding their noses and mouths and retreating across the field...and me, pretending to continue to read my book but keeping half an eye in their direction, and a straight face, gently, but uncontrollably rocking with internal hysterics... ;)

Learning to cope(?) - update

So, went back to the hospital on Monday (sorry, it's taken a while to type all this), my appointment was at 1045hrs, so I arrived fifteen minutes early to check in (in good time). At a rough guess, when I finally managed to get me and my bag through the door, there were about 70 people (not joking) in front of me waiting to be seen...considering this, I was amazed by only having to wait until quarter past twelve to be told I needed another x-ray, wait until 1305 to have that done and 1350 to actually see the doctor...looks like fresh intakes get the priority, but if so, why issue appointment times at all?? What a waste of time...anyway, the doctor said that the bone was knitting well and then dropped the bombshell...no right arm for 3 more weeks, I have to keep the stupid f**king sling on...I also asked him about the fact that (it only having been one week) my other fingers (the ones that aren't bound together) are starting to visibly atrophy and turn worryingly grey (can barely flex them now)...but he said we'll "worry about that when the bone is healed" :(

Anyway, hospital horror aside, how am I getting on?

Worst thing? Painkillers running out at between 3am and 5am and my recurring dream of being flung around on public transport...the blinding pain when my unconscious mind makes me clench my right hand trying to grab an imaginary hand rail wakes me up with a start every time...ouch... :(

One of the best things so far? Sticky Keys! If you use Windows you can try it yourself, it's part of the built-in accessability functionality - hit the left shift key five times in a row (do it fast), then hit "ok" at the dialogue. Now, in order (one at a time) hit "Ctrl", then "Alt" and finally "Delete" - it's magic (shame it's a bit noisy!), but at least that's the end of me asking colleagues to help me lock/unlock my workstation (hit shift five times slowly to turn it off again btw)! Can't aim my mouse very well still though, and typing remains problematic (doesn't take long before my hand gets cramp), been playing with Dasher in an effort to solve this, but with weak mouse skills it's awkward, a little hypnotic (to say the least) and at my speeds, seems to have slowed me down to about four words a minute (as opposed to my normal 8000)...Certainty gives you plenty of time to think about what you want to say though ("Ent Meet" springs to mind)....still, when the cramp starts in my left hand I am left with little option... :(

Writing (pen-fashion) remains impossible, as are shoe laces...if I'm eating meat then someone has to cut it up for me (on Sunday Mr S chopped up baby Alexander's supper and then chopped up mine)...I'm learning to read books left handed (without dropping them and loosing my place *too* often), and the toilet is getting easier (thank God)...shooting with the tripod is easy but setting it up is hard, maybe a few pics soon though... ;)

Holiday starts tomorrow, the plan to go camping in the tent has been abandoned but a little bit of negotiation has netted us a "For Sale" caravan to rent for the duration, we've booked it for four nights with an option to extend (assuming it's not too difficult to cope, if it's tough we'll just come home and do a foreign holiday later in the year)...

So, swings and roundabouts, really looking forward to the rest...just hope it's possible...cross your fingers for me! ;)

Coping with a broken finger...

...it's (despite filler content), got to be more interesting (to satisfy the ghoulishness in you) to hear about what sucks about loosing your primary limb...none of this is terribly amusing to me, but I'm trying to look on the bright side...so, what has been really difficult thus far?

Having no limb on the right hand side to stop you toppling over if public transport launches you the wrong way, getting into the office the other day was genuinely scary (no-one offered me a seat)

I cannot type or mouse properly (as previously mentioned)...

I cannot play any games (I just can't *imagine* what it would be like to permanently loose a limb - GAME OVER)

I am restricted to innacurate (left) messy hand-to-mouth pot-style noodle consumption (teeth/fist/headbutt opening, but squeezing the sauce out is a messy nightmare) - chopping/eating/anything interesting is just impossible with my left hand

I can't cut my toe-nails

Toilet/bathroom hygine is very challenging (I hate to ask you to use your imagination) :(

Deodourant on the left hand side is impossible without hitting myself (at least a little) in the face with the spray

I can't put my own socks on (very quickly) small ones are almost impossible, larger ones take ages... :(

I can't take any pictures, left hand only photographers, I salute you...I can't even hold it up and aim it properly...just shakes...

My right shoulder is in constant spasm/cramp

My broken digit is constantly throbbing (in a nasty way)

My right palm constantly gets "pruned"...

This sucks... :(

(thanks again Flyingpops for help typing, just need to get you trained up on Flickr now ;)

broken bones...

I'm loathed to have to reach for "shift" at the mo...so please forgive from here on in if i don't do so unless required...

...on that note typing really isn't funny, left hand isn't trained to cross the whole keyboard and do shift/space, and operate the mouse etc - do you doubt me? just try it for a few hours with your right hand clamped to your left shoulder...(throw the broken finger in for good measure if you need that in order to complete the picture) it's torture...looks like handedness is much more important than I realised up until now...

None-the-less I will have to adapt, turns out it's blooming 4-6 weeks for recovery - this throws all our plans into jeopardy (least of all the new recipes I had planned) - my right arm is in *proper* agony shoved so hard into the nhs recommend healing position, muscles are clenching with cramp, how can we go camping over summer now...? And I gotta work for goodness sake! All that aside - the doctor tellsl me if i screw the recovery period up it can be a year in physiotherapy...this, I can well do without...

Cooking proper food is impossible, as is eating it...I'm going to be on spoon/sandwich (which someone else has made) food for the duration...CRAP...

I'm feeling really down right now... :(

Broken Finger

Okay, I've broken my middle finger on my right hand, first time I have broken anything (for some odd reason the doctor dismissed my denial of being guilty of fighting with a stern over-the-glasses frown, how unfair, accidents can happen doc!)...

I can type, as you can see, (very slowly) with my left hand but the nurse was instructed to bind my fingers together, then tied my whole right hand to my left shoulder, so I'm down to one arm. PC use/turning pages in books/opening doors while carrying anything/etc/etc/etc, in fact, living has now become rather a challenge (not that my left hand was any good at the whole "mouse" thing anyway, constantly missing my aim and mucking up which way round the buttons are...nightmare)...anyway, typing like this is pretty uncomfortable (basically back to one finger), so I'll sign off here...next stop the Fracture clinic... :(

And no, "B", I'm not going to entertain a ruler on a head strap as a typing aid at this stage either... ;)

Tipped portaloo, Wharfdale Road >;P

So while the office has been closed some idiot has tipped over the portaloo that the poor workmen who are doing up the pavements all round Islington had to use...Just hope no-one was in it... ;)

...as you can see, it went all over the place...yuk :(

Oh, and in other news I drew Tunisia in the office sweepstakes...oh well...

Office is back open!

Good news! The fire brigade have announced that the gas cylinders are now safe! So as of 10am today the office will be back open (once a further safety inspection of the premises is completed by our facilities dept, of course)...

Unfortunately I've missed rush hour now, out here in the country everything rather slows down after about 0830hrs, I checked the timetables anyway (bus and rail, as I need both) and if I set off right now I might *just* get to Kings Cross in time for lunch, so I'm better off staying put...back to London tomorrow...

Kings Place - Further update

...and I quote from my office official briefing - "Having obtained a further update from the London fire brigade, we can confirm that the London offices will almost certainly remain closed all day tomorrow. The gas cylinders remain too hot to begin cooling by water at this stage, and it is expected to take up to 24 hours from the point at which water cooling can commence before they can be removed"...

Astonishing! So that's probably Friday before we can get back to our desks! Glad I didn't leave any ripe fruit on my PC!

Accidents do happen, but we will be lucky if someone's neck isn't on the line after all this...

Kings Place - update

Incredible, just came down from brushing my teeth to watch the traffic and travel on the BBC and they say the fire is still raging and Kings Cross is still closed! Guess I'll be working from here again then...! Lucky I have lots of documentation in dire need of updates...

Update from the press - "We are constantly monitoring the situation, and are working with London Fire Brigade to establish when it will be safe to re-open the station and resume services."A London Fire Brigade spokesman said: "Fires involving these types of cylinders cause major disruption in the capital on average once every month.
"Because of the risk of explosion, a 200 m exclusion zone is set up every time these cylinders are involved in a fire." - so there we go...back in the rat run tomorrow hopefully!

Fire, Evacuation and risk of Explosion - Kings Place, York Way, Kings Cross

Okay, safely home now, just grabbing some lunch...But just to cover what I do know again, at about ten o'clock today we were told by colleagues that there was a fire in the "Kings Place" building site and the offices were being evacuated...I didn't hang about...I just grabbed my bag, locked my PC and walked out of there (pictures to be had)...down at street level lots of policemen were busy blocking everything off and trying to get people to leave the area -

(Crinan Street, the building site is clearly visible at the end)

- diverting all the traffic away from York Way down towards the Caledonian Road via Wharfdale Road -

- which was slowly filling with emergency services vehicles...the only route I could think of that might not be blocked off by this stage was along the canal, so I trotted up the Caledonian Road, went down onto the tow path through the community garden and snuck along until this copper blocked my path, he was turning everyone away...

...so I retraced my steps about 20 yards and found a gate, this took me up to a little housing estate where I found another path into a garden about 2 meters above the tow path (much nearer) where I got this shot -

- but there was no further sign of incident, look closely though and you can see a number of cylinders which could be full of gas (which is why we all had to get out of there)...doesn't seem to be much in the news right now, but hopefully that's good news...would hate to think anyone was hurt or killed...

Update - The BBC has a shot of the fire (must be on the other side!) and news that Kings Cross station is closed (as well as our office and other local businesses)...(thanks to the annonymous commentator ;)

Update update - Looks like the rest of the press are slowly catching up with the news, one person went to hospital with severe burns, 630-odd people evacuated from Kings Cross station (which is shut), half of the 8th floor of Kings Place is "damaged" and depending on who you read, between 20 and 30 firefighters are on the scene...

Update update update - Hello nurture readers... (a link to this posting made it into our corporate blog ;)

Kings place - update

Well, just spoke to one of the contractors working on the site and he said they have all been sent home, so this is definitely a major incident...by the time I got back from the canal everyone from the office had vanished and police and emergency tape was everywhere, so I'm going to pack up and work from home...no point in standing on my own in the rain with police officers telling me to evacuate...more later when I get some news!

Kings place - update

Kings place - update
Originally uploaded by finkangel.

Okay, managed to get round via the canal, had to play dodge the coppers though, everywhere is sealed off, by tape, I overheard a witness telling of a loud explosion and flames on the top of one of the towers but it's looking clear now...gonna find somewhere dry now to wait it out...Took a few pics with the other camera for later... How exciting... ;)

Kings Place - on fire!

Kings Place - on fire!
Originally uploaded by finkangel.

We have all been evacuated! More later!

Major Incident - East Surrey Hospital - A23 bus crash?

...horrifically the sign in the background reads "Families of fatalities and casualties report to A & E"...this is right now...

POWERGEL! <:0

No mucking about - an hour after I put this stuff on my foot I hopped up and walked between the camper vans (without even realising I had done so) forgetting the walking stick (to astonished comments from companions)...! It's like a new ankle in a tube..! Admittedly it's prescription only (and admittedly not exactly *my* prescription), but you can take it from me - ketoprofen 0wnz ibroprofen... ;)