Things that Shouldn't Be

Or perhaps should be.  

For instance, starting a sentence with 'and'.  An And at the beginning would work so more naturally then any other word very often.  Having a full stop before 'and' adds the emphasis to the 'and'  that as a writer you sometimes want (well, I do.)  On Friday I was reading a text book on giving presentations that my Nat Nav got out of the library.  The author used And at the start of sentences.  We need to make this a  'thing.'

On strike Friday last week I caught this train to work.  It was a Southern train.  It shouldn't have been running but was.  It was empty.  This is a 'thing' that should be.  Southern trains empty and running.

Monday last week we were summoned, yes summoned, to a staff meeting.  I went down to grab my seat and found this waiting for me.

This should be a 'thing'.  Alcohol in staff meetings.  Who's with me?

The Rightly Wrong Hotel

Dear reader,

I love conferences. I particularly like the drinks after.  I also am enamored of two conferences in a row.  You'll be pleased to know that I turned up at the right hotel this time.  That's fortunate as I was facilitating a session.  Ironically it turned out that I turned up rightly at the right hotel that was the wrong hotel last week. 

After conferencing in the right but wrong hotel I had a drink or three then took this picture  for you.  

Note the similarity to the video last week of the wrong hotel view point.  Ignore the obvious difference of night time versus daylight.

At the wrong hotel the right time this week I listened to talks,  I had lunch,  I facilitated a discussion,  I met peer friends and I had 'a few.' (British term).  At 7pm I texted Mr Him to advise him of my departure from this wrong hotel the right time, being  the time of my departure.  It was a train  strike day.  There was no saying I'd get a train home.  As it happened I caught a train home that shouldn't have existed.  This train's ultimate destination was my station.  Ultimate destinations are never my station.  I had caught the right but wrong train home.

I must detour on this tale to tell you I've written about this particular hotel before,  twice.  It was here that Mr Him was refrained by his employer to go home, quite wrongly in my opinion.  Here. Later that year I went to a conference at this rightly wrong  but right hotel here and that's where I caught out Mr Him's employer and the nonsense of his stay. in this blog in which there are  nice pictures in this one too 

Note, dear reader,  that twice these past 2 weeks I've been at this hotel and made my way home that same day.

Still there's a lovely view from the hotel, you have to agree. 

An Illusion Shattered

I mentioned that I had a conference for several days and a black tie dinner.  The dinner was an entirely separate event and coincidentally on the same day.  This meant packing so as I could change at the conference hotel ready to travel to the dinner hotel.

With backpack uploaded to my small frame I left the house on my second day expedition to the big city.  In my pack I had the contents of my handbag, phone, charger, shoes, evening dress, make up, jewellery and breakfast.  Yes, breakfast.  That's most important.

As Petra was on her own in the office I detoured to see her, pick up my ticket for the evening dinner, eat my breakfast, pick up my pashmina. (The pashmina was essential it turns out.)  An hour and a half later I was back in central London at the conference, with trusty back pack by my side. 

Here I listened to a scary story by a hacker. This involved all phones in the room being hacked and listed on the screen, (big, big screen) before us.

'who is Elizabeth?' asked the hacker.  A hand went up.  'Who is John?'  a hairy arm arose.   Then, there it was, for all to see, Anna Mutton Years.  Yes, literally.  My phone calls itself Anna Mutton Years. 'Who is....'  I shrunk low into my pashmina (I knew it would be useful.)   Great, all illusion of elegant lady, professonal, business like persona, shattered.

Mr Punch

Dear Reader,

have you heard of Punch and Judy?  It's a British children's (that's debatable) puppet show.  Here is an example from Youtube.


Mr Punch

On Saturday Mr Him decided to try the look of Mr Punch on to see if it would suit him, work, create magic.  Actually I don't know his reasoning.  I do know that I wasn't keen on this and asked him not to try it again. Below he is trying to cast a spell upon his tea. It didn't work. He still had tea, not beer. 

In other news Miss 21 brought us the most hugest cakes for afternoon tea last weekend. 

Automotive engineers cake which lasted him 3 days

Belgian Buns for Mr Punch and I (lasted us 2 days.)

A London City Excursion

I've been quiet on the Anna front. Life has been peaceful, until this past week. 


During this past week all chaos on the work front ensued.  My deputy went on holiday,  I went to conferences and Petra had to hold the fort in the office.

As for my conferences, well I had eatings out and a black tie dinner too.  All started in grand fashion, with me getting lost.  My lostness was withour Mr Him, (he'd be proud of me, and particularly pleased if I joined this little lot.)

ruins near the Tower of London

I did find the Tower of London, which is rather an ironic name nowadays, I thought as I captured this pic. 

New and Old, Shard and Tower

Tower Bridge, I was to get closer than I imagined

wrong hotel

Still it gave me an opportunity to capture some unexpected photos for you.

 I found the hotel and had my day of seminars.  In the evening we went to a Dim Sum bar and had our first crackers of the season. Season!  A bit early still  I think.

spot the crackers... yes we pulled them and shared the jokes

As myself and peers left to head to London Bridge station we couldn't help but capture this view in the film below. 

   night view

Freezing of the Nat Nav

No sooner had I designated  Needlework Natalie as Nat Nav then she it she starts to fail.  It she it she has started to freeze mid function as the weather has turned colder. 

On Wednesday my Nat Nav went to catch the gentleman's country train, without me!  I was in one of those office impromptu conversations at a desk.  You know the sort, the ones unarranged but most useful. Anyway, I ran and caught up with my oh so independent Nat Nav at the station.  Here I noticed a train in the platform and shouted to my Nat Nav that we needed to run over the bridge.  I did.  She it she did. The doors beeped.  I ran and jumped on the train.  She didn't.  The doors closed.  My train departed leaving my Nat Nav on the platform.

The next morning I found Nat Nav on the platform  (not the same platform.  She did appear to have gone home to sleep overnight. ) I commented that a train had just gone through that she could have got on. She told me that she saw it and was so busy carrying out her morning Google searches and start processes that it didn't click that it was her train to work.  Yes, dear reader, she'd frozen mid function again. 

There's a few bugs going around.  I might have to run an anti-virus. 

In other news Friday was a Southern strike day again.  Our country gentleman's train decided not to run from Gatwick.  I actually, yes really, bated breath, caught a non running empty Southern Train to London!

This is how empty the train was.

Rhinos and Flowers

Dear reader,  hard autumn has arrived.  It was on  Wednesday.  Sadly our late blooming flowers will be tinged brown with a frosty burn soon.  Luckily Mr Him took these pictures on Saturday prior to the frost's descent on our garden. He was remarking on the late display as he captured their pink and orange radiance.

Talking of Mr Him. ..well let's first look at this baby rhino.  It's just been born and is taking its first bath.   Look at mum and baby rolling on the floor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yT1AJUidMOk

That leads me nicely into telling you that Mr Him has taken up pilates.  I can't say it's the most elegant I've seen him as he does his floor exercises.

Elegance reminds me  to tell you Mr Him has  bought himself a new  jacket, sorry, blazer he tells me, from TK Maxx.  He was given  £30 Love to Shop voucher as a reward at work and I think it was inspired to spend the voucher in TK Maxx where he could leverage on their discounted clothing.