Big Nose

Hays Galleria in London. I walk past this fun statue most mornings when I'm in London, cheapo i newspaper under one arm and pushing my little bike. What a good use of space! The starlings like it too and so it's usually full of chirpy sounds. London Bridge Pier is right next door as well and so this is a happy way to start the day for me - about 0825.

Boat to Blackfriars at 0832, change onto the Putney boat at 0847 and jump off at Vauxhall (aka St Georges Wharf) at 9 for most of the day in a dingy office. Nice people! (Well, mostly...)

Then at 2pm I was just about to fall over and sleep on the floor - the weekend's epic all night report writing madness caught up. So I left. And I missed the boat. AArgh.

Cycled across London, went the wrong way, ended up in heavy traffic, enjoyed it, made it to the 3pm train to Edinburgh. Was fed wine all the way north.

"Travelling on business or pleasure Sir?," asked the lad. "London for business, the train for pleasure," I replied. "Yes, the time saved on the plane is offset by the hellish experience in the airport!," replied the lad-after-my-own-heart. Cue catchphrase from me - "Exactly! Spend 4 hours on the train being treated like an adult, or go to the airport and be treated like a terrorist!"

And as we got towards Edinburgh he poured me an extra wine then gave me the bottle. Good lad. Wouldn't get that on a bloody aeroplane.

Title inspired by Monty Python.

By the way, the sculptor seems downright embarrassed by The Navigotors - here's David Kemp's web page with remarkably bad photos and dispirited words. Well, to be fair I suppose my crap past isn't on public display. And he has done a LOT of other stuff!