Farewell compassionate [sic] (northern half of the) world...

Something inevitably cheesy must be said on leaving the country of your birth for a significant time, so I thought I'd try the rather over-used but always effective Douglas Adams Hitch Hiker's Guide quote of "So long and thanks for all the fish", but that would be unavailing as I don't really eat fish, thus I am clearly not grateful for said produce. So instead: So long and thanks for all the... chicken. I suppose. I do like chicken a lot more than fish.

The stupid things that do cross my mind...

To the ends of the earth

On the eve of my travelling to the other side of the world I am struggling to comprehend quite what is happening. It has all been so sudden that I've not really come to terms with what I'm doing. I've not yet really had a chance to be truly anxious about going, or upset that I'm leaving although I'm sure that will come. It's not even really kicked in that I am wholly unprepared for both my quickly approaching course but also in terms of living, I don't have long term accommodation, just 4 nights in a hostel. I'm trying to avoid thinking about it really. I just have to hope that I get replies to my many frantic emails by the time I next get internet. We shall see, I'm hoping that all this stress will be worth it. Everyone keeps telling me it will be.

By the time I get to Australia (or even Singapore depending on how much time I have and whether there is any internet) I may be able to comment on several new films, the Trip, Super8, Bridesmaids, X-men something or other, a Chinese historical/martial arts film that looked good an even at a push Pirates of the Caribbean 4. You never know, I might just try to sleep. It's a shame there appears to be no sports on board, I will most likely miss a couple of rugby matches and there's nothing like watching something live. Still, will be nice to watch them in the correct timezone.

Something that deserves note and is one of my particular interests at the moment, Mark Cavendish took gold to become the first British world road cycling champion since 1965 only a few days since Bradley Wiggins took silver in the time-trial stages of the same competition. It is probably a record haul for British cycling and was compelling watching with the 8 strong team only in the final 1000m not showing the measure of calm and control they had exuded all race. They stuck to a plan that they told everyone before the race and full credit to them, they executed it perfectly. I'd like to say it's set us up perfectly for the Olympics at home next year but that isn't really the big goal in professional cycling. As Wiggins has said, the Tour de France is his aim next year and with the Sky team looking ever stronger with Geraint Thomas winning points jersey in the Tour of Britain and generally having a solid ride, Chris Froome and Wiggins taking second and third in the Vuelta against all odds. With Alex Dowsett the British national time trial champion, Steven Cummings second at the Tour of Britain and other names of note being Ben Swift and Edvald Boasson-Hagen to name but a couple with even Mark Cavendish rumoured to join them, Sky putting out the strongest team really would stand a chance of winning the Tour de France.

Trained to empty a room with just a phone...

I write this from an uncomfortable train seat returning from Brighton, having just had my joy that the foul woman in her ugly, smelly coat had her phone call cut short by signal spoiled by the fact that she didn't even leave it a minute to try again. Woe is me. Woe is also a lot of other passengers as well with her inane and vacuous talk of being a new granny (again, poor things...) and being overworked carried out in her loudest possible voice has driven passengers out of the carriage.

To this she is completely oblivious. She seems intent to chat shit the entire train journey which is even more annoying than the woman whose phone repeatedly rang but then hurriedly hung up saying she couldn't speak because she was on the train. It really does confound me quite how inconsiderate people can be, and even more how these people are always the uninteresting on whom evesdropping bears no fruit.

Almost the entire train journey I have had the urge to fake a phone call loudly proclaiming something along the lines of 'Sorry, I can't chat right now because i'm on the train and to do so would be the height of disrespect to anything with ears because they don't care about my largely uninteresting life.' I refrained, and as the woman has finally got up to leave (hopefully she trips and dies as she gets off the train) I sincerely regret not doing so. The potential satisfaction. Oh to be more controversial.

On a positive note, a nice day spent in Brighton with a friend despite the ridiculous wind, intermittent rain and high prices.