Commuting in a Heatwave

I do hate commuting in this heat but beyond the absolutely obvious (i.e. carrying a bottle of water), there are a few things that I have discovered to maximise comfort (although admittedly it's never going to be a pleasure)...first off (and I haven't got to this stage yet) commute in shorts, packing your smart trousers to change into later...on Southern trains (probably applies to other train operators too), if you happen to walk into a carriage and the air conditioning is off, don't just sit down, cursing the conductor for his (or her) inattentiveness - try moving carriages - chances are you have just been unlucky and stumbled on one where the system is broken, yesterday this happened to me but when I checked, the aircon was working fine in the carriage next door, my solution (so I still got a seat) was to prop my trusty rucksack in the gap keeping the cool breeze flowing...next, pick up a Metro as early as possible in the journey (London Bridge for me), once you have read it, it doubles up as an excellent fan... ;)

Jubilee line specific hack here, but it may well work on other lines - when queuing for a door, make sure you go for either the front or back of the carriage (never the middle two doors), as the train windows generate a terrific breeze (from the front during acceleration, from the back during braking), either is good (front is slightly better though, as the train usually spends more time accelerating than slowing down)...if you absolutely can't get into either of these positions, take the middle doors but stay as close to them as you can, a gentler (but still welcome) breeze blows through here all the time through the gaps at the side while the train is moving (and of course when the train stops you can poke your head out to gulp a few fresh breaths of fresh air)...however the ultimate Jubilee line hack (which I saved for last) is (of course) not to even use it at all...the Thames Clippers' new Canary Wharf Express from London Bridge takes about the same amount of time as the tube and yesterday I sat outside (by the engines) getting deliciously sprayed with cool water the whole way...

I actually arrived in the office with a smile on my face... ;)

London Heatwave update

It's getting a bit stupid now, London has been hotter than Bermuda, the Canary Islands (those just off the Sahara desert)...and even with the aircon blasting out in my office, according to the local digital thermometer it's *still* managed to work it's way above the legal limit for transporting cattle and also above the WHO maximum "guideline" figure for the "comfort of human beings"...still, we can't help the weather...and it's (according to the Evening Standard) been inhumanly hot on the tube and even worse on the buses during the heat of the day... :(

Really looking forward to the many ventilation and aircon-free bus and train journeys facing me during my 4-5+ hours of commute tomorrow...(especially with this wonderful summer cold making breathing so easy)...and tomorrow is the big one...last time it got this bad I couldn't bloody move...

Eaten Alive...

Sometime yesterday in London I was bitten by a nasty insect...it might have been on the train on the way home, as that was where I noticed the first one (on my left leg) when I woke up this morning I found several more, all about the size of a ten pence piece and really sore and itchy, I also (I'm sure unrelated) had an angry sore throat and a blocked up nose (and I've been sitting here sneezing all day, getting less and less "Bless you"'s as the repetition starts to grate)...

So - hot and sticky and itchy and bunged up all rolled into one...wonderful...and the best thing to photograph on the way in was a cement mixer...no wonder I'm feeling grumpy... :(

Earlswood Commute - Serious delays - 5th of July

Super muggy today, I can best describe it as like being in the wet half of the Eden Project...sticky, hot, close...sweat your constant companion...so as you can imagine I was thrilled to discover that a lightning strike on a signal box down near Brighton had caused serious disruption of all First Capital and Southern trains...

They couldn't even get the signs right...we sat at Earlswood for about 40 minutes watching the expected time of arrival change in increments of 2 minutes (after the actual time had passed) until at 0822 it finally jumped back to being expected at 0804 again...brilliant...I even had the pleasure of watching the train I was planning on catching (at Redhill) zoom past (full and standing)...

When a train did finally arrive (a Victoria one) I decided just to stay on it (it crawled, and the aircon wasn't working), waved my (probably) invalid ticket at the guard at the barrier once there and he waved me through, hopped on a number 73 mobile sauna, which promptly broke down leaving me standing in a tropical storm near Tottenham Court Road waiting for another one to come along (about ten minutes)...then had to walk (again in the luke-warm rain) up to the office...finally sat down at my desk about an hour and a quarter later than usual...

Nice... >:(

Tips for keeping cool - Official Heatwave Level 2 Alert

Okay, the Met Office issued an official "Heatwave Level 2 Alert" this morning for the Midlands and the South East of England according to the Department of Health website...the BBC have a list of official tips for keeping cool here (most notably - Don't wait until you are thirsty to drink water, by then you are already dehydrated)...

On BBC Breakfast they had an astonishingly good speaker (albeit briefly) - Dr Rosemary Leonard, who listed a few really good suggestions that the beeb failed to post on their site for some reason, so I will list them for you here -

1. Open your loft hatch - heat RISES
2. If it is hotter outside the house than inside, keep the windows and doors CLOSED
3. Freeze a bottle of water and place it in front of your fan for extra cooling
4. Heatwaves are NOT the time to sunbathe - stay in the SHADE

All very sensible... ;) I have a couple of my own too -

1. Turn off any PCs you aren't using (and any other electrical equipment for that matter)
2. Close any curtains that have a white backing material
3. Turn off any lights that aren't flourescent or cold cathode in nature

Update - We are up to a level 3, which I am reliably informed is the highest level!! Last time this happened was in 2004, and 65 people died...(most likely all of them on the Thameslink ;)*pant* >;P

Update update - I was wrong, there is a level 4!!

Race for Life 2006 - Epsom Downs - pics and video

Okay, here is the Flickr stream, all general pictures - pics of Flyingpops protected (family/tagged friends can log in) as she is going to email them to the kind people who helped her raise somewhere in the region of (wait for it!) £450!!!!!!!!!!!!

Short video of the warm up here (powered by YouTube)...

(Ooo! Look at me - vodcasting - actually, it's more like vlogging, I think RANS may prefer the former though...hehe... ;)

Now, on to the F1!!! USA again, lets just hope it's a bit better than last year...!

Update - OUCH! I seriously caught the sun... :(

Well done Flyingpops!!

Well done Flyingpops!!
Originally uploaded by finkangel.

Race completed successfully! Just having a picnic under a tree to cool off... ;)

Race for Life Epsom 2006 - update

Race for Life Epsom 2006 - update
Originally uploaded by finkangel.

Warm up done, they are lining up now! ;) Proper pics and maybe some video later... ;)

Race for Life 2006 - update

Race for Life 2006 - update
Originally uploaded by finkangel.

Everyone is 'warming up' now, spirits are incredibly high considering how hot it is! Everyone is dancing and singing! ;)

Race for Life 2006 - Epsom Races

Well, here we are and it's BOILING!!

Race for Life 2006 - Last chance to sponsor Flyingpops!

So, up again early! We are just about off to Epson Downs for Flyingpops to do her part in the race for life, so wish her luck (weather is very hot, so she might need it)!! Cold packs are in the cold bags, which are full of drinks and the picnic food, and I've got lots of water in case she overheats... ;)

(This is also your last chance to sponsor her if you haven't already, it's for a very good cause)!