Life in the big city...

So, I've been in London for the day, and the sun was shining, which was nice. Best of all, I wasn't in a hurry, which meant that I could ride the bus from place to place, a much more pleasant means of transport than the Tube.

Lunch with my father and my kid brother was very nice, especially as I don't see as much of them as I would like. The chosen pub serves Timothy Taylor's Landlord, which is always a bonus, and my weight loss has not gone unnoticed, which puts me in a good mood.

However, they have to go to work, so time for a bit of light shopping. I'm a bit of a random shopper in that, when I'm up for it, I'm really up for it - the shirt collection is evidence of that - but when the muse is not with me, the credit card is safe. And, in a sartorial sense, I'm safe for another month, although I now possess more Monteverdi madrigals than one could reasonably listen to in a sitting.

And that is the minor drawback of living far from the madding crowd, the lack of certain types of shopping. For example, buying classical music CDs is not really an option, unless I go to Snape for a concert, and even then my choice is a bit limited. On the other hand, I am less likely to purchase things that I don't need, and therefore spend less on a day to day basis (sorry guys, if you're counting on me to spend the kind of money that would save the British economy, I fear you will be disappointed).

Of course, London is less than ninety minutes away by fast train (alright, National Express East Anglia train, it would probably be seventy minutes by real train), so if there's something I really want, it's hardly like a trek across the Gobi Desert (Essex really isn't that bad, you know).

The evening was spent with friends, exchanging tales of campaigns past, over an excellent meal and good wine. One disadvantage of living in the countryside is that, if you throw, or attend, a dinner party, one of you has to drive, and not drink. In that sense, public transport makes you free. Ah well, when I raise enough money for the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway...

And so to bed...