Rik Abel

Imagine my surprise and delight on saturday morning to see my Brixton Crack Squirrels post quoted in The Guardian! Apparently it is a burgeoning urban legend, which is funny, because I just made it up. Not that they don’t exist, of course. If you live in Brixton long enough, and your mind works in a certain, somewhat lateral way, you are going to put crack and squirrels together. I know I did. Anyway, apparently they are a recognised phenomenon in New York and Washington.

It’s the crack foxes I’m worried about…

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This morning wasn’t too bad at all, actually. Left the flat in scenic Wolfson College at 7am, got my skates on (quite liderally), and whizzed over to the railway station, via Coe Fen, where a herd of cows lay breathing steamily in the rising mist. Which was nice. Arrived at the station 16 minutes later, having dr*nk a mug of Hot Lava Java (it’s caffeinetastic!) and hopped onto the 7:32 train. Happily, the train starts in Cambridge so it is empty, which means I’m guaranteed a seat on the way *to* work, at least. Settled in and managed to read a good chunk of In The Bubble (Designing in a Complex World), which is a fascinating read, thus far. More on that later.

Luckily, a woman sat opposite me, which means that we weren’t knocking knees for the entire journey, unlike last night when I had a tallish chap opposite. You would think, if you were a fool, that these train designers might put the seats sufficiently far apart that you don’t have to squirm and wiggle to avoid kneelock when two slightly-above-average height people sit opposite. But hey, that would eat into those profit margins, wouldn’t it? Did I mention I am paying £313 per month to commute between Cambridge and London,  a distance of 45 miles? I read somewhere that the UK rail system is the most expensive in the world, when you measure cost per mile as a compared with average earnings. Wow. At least it is the BEST rail system in the world! Ha ha ha ha ha hahah ha ha! (I miss the trams in Toronto - trams are great).

Anyway, got to London, got my skates back on, arrived at work at 9.05 am (earlier than usual, if truth be told). 2 hours door to door isn’t SO bad. Maybe, just maybe, I can handle commuting 3 or 4 times a week after all. I’ll revise that impression in a month, and after the weather deteriorates. Skating on pavements covered in wet leaves is NO FUN. I may have to invest in, or rent, a folding bike (they are all the rage, daahling. But not a Brompton - I’m a Birdy man!)

And so but, my intial impression - commuting ain’t so terribly hideous as I thought it would be. Yet.

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