Why hello!  How lovely to hear from you!
Can't remember the last time we had such weather, no, but
I expect it'll clear up soon.  How are you?  Yes I'm fine thanks, same as
Ever, you know!  What have you been up to since we last spoke? Anything you can
Tell me about?  Haha, well quite - did
Anyone ever tell you that you have an evil streak?  Haha, noooo, I don't know
What you mean!  Now then, we should get together again for
A drink shouldn't we? Oh, just a couple of pints - don't want to repeat the
Horrible experience of that hangover from last
Time! What? Oh yes we did, didn't we - I'd forgotten we did that!  Haha, well...
I'm off, I think: Great to hear your voice, as always, glad to hear you're
Having fun, see you soon I hope?

I would like to indulge myself in a small rant, about a particular bête noir of mine, namely, that most ubiquitous of marketing tools,

"Rebranding"

It's always been with us, of course, but lately there seems to have been something of a flurry, a near stampede to rename almost everything in sight.

Digital TV channels, have hardly been with us for the batting of an eyelid, and yet some are already on their third or fourth name.  I see that what is currently known as "UKTV History" is shortly to be called "Yesterday".  Have people learned nothing from the "One Railway" fiasco?
"Did you see the Antiques Roadshow on Yesterday on Tuesday?"  etc.

An example of more direct influence to me: I'm an archer, and archery clubs in this country are affiliated to a body called "The Grand National Archery Society", formed in the early 19th Century, and supporting member clubs dating back at least another century before that.  It's shortly to be rebranded as "Archery GB".  Why?  What actual purpose will that serve, beyond providing cars and holidays for a handful of marketing consultants?

And there, I suppose we come to the crux of my prejudice, for I freely admit it to be so:  I detest marketing people.

It offends me that there is a trade that is plied entirely by people who actually believe that passengers (sorry, "customers") care more about what their railway company is called, than how often the trains are on time.  People who feel that "Department of Justice" is somehow going to inspire the public into a greater trust and belief in the rule of law, than it had when it was merely part of the Home Office.  People who believe that "new" is automatically better, and that anything that's been around more than five minutes must automatically no longer be "relevant to today's society".

People who, God help us, are telling us that Norwich Union "has always wanted to be" Aviva.

"When you’ve been in marketing as long as I have, you'll know that before any new product can be developed it has to be properly researched. We’ve got to find out what people want from fire, how they relate to it, what sort of image it has for them."
The crowd were tense. They were expecting something wonderful from Ford.
"Stick it up your nose," he said.
"Which is precisely the sort of thing we need to know," insisted the girl, "Do people want fire that can be fitted nasally?"

Yesterday was a good day.

It began with, wonder of wonders, my boiler springing to life after its partial electrical drowning by a heating engineer the night before.  I have proper hot water for the first time in months.

It continued with the discovery of a veritable torrent of kind messages on Facebook, that took me quite a while to reply to - I'm an inveterate replier to things - find it hard not to - not helped by the fact that messages continued to arrive as I was replying to earlier ones.  Lovely, put me in a good mood right from the outset.
There were messages from people I know well, and from friends who I barely speak to, either in person or online.  Messages from people I've always had a bit of a soft spot for, others from friends-of-friends.  Rather touching.

Then off to an audition.  Which went well.  An audition panel with an understanding of actors, and how to get the best from people.  The impression, genuine or polite, that they liked what I was doing with the character. Warm feeling.

Quick trip to Victoria to collect a friend's spare keys so I can look in on their cat briefly on Saturday morning.  Smiles.

Slow wander down through Plimlico to the river, taking the long way round, along the Thames Path, to Waterloo, stand for a while watching the cold brown water churn away below me, surrounded by a small contingent of street performers freezing their silver-painted nuts off in the bitter weather.

Beer, food and conversation in the very best of company.  The friendly surroundings of the Maple Leaf in Maiden Lane; the aromatic joy of a tea-merchant;  falafel, couscous and lamb in the cosy candlelit "Souk" near Seven Dials; more beer, additional good company, in the Yard.  Slightly saddened by finding it a pale shadow of its former self - a victim, as it were, of the smoking ban - the courtyard, from which it derives its name, always bustling and noisy, now quiet and empty.  Happily drunk enough not to let it temper my mood.  Much good company.  Amicii flores in horto vitae sunt, as I've said elsewhere before.

Good day.  Very good day.

As a welcome change from all the gloom and navel-gazing that occurs on this blog, here's a happy post.

Astute readers may already know about the A1 Peppercorn Class 60163 "Tornado", the first main line steam locomotive built in this country since 1960 - not a preserved original (no examples of the A1 Peppercorn class exist, all having been scrapped in the late 60s) but a brand-new locomotive, built from scratch, from the original drawings, but to the standards required by a modern railway.

Today was her first trip to London, pulling the A1 Trust's "Talisman" rail tour train into Kings Cross, and, thanks to a reminder from a friend, I was there.  I'm not, by nature, much of a trainspotter, but I do have a very soft spot for steam locos, and the Tornado is such a remarkable achievement, that I found myself quite moved by the huge crowds that had turned out to greet her.




More photos on Ian's page here.