Tuesday Tuesday the gas man cometh, not. I went to bed around 1am and was up soon after 7am having set the automated BT reminder call service. I had two risings and associated dreams during the night which I cannot remember, the dreams that is or the feelings associated with them. At present this does matter because I am not having to make any decisions which affect others, but I need to constantly monitor my emotional balance and have a connection with the forces within me, even if they are buried and I do not understand the specifics.
Although I believed I had everything organised for the visit of the gas servicing man it was nine before I was satisfied that everything was in order, and it occurred that it would be good self discipline to establish such a detailed check once a month. I sat down after two slices of toast and tea, feeling more tired that on rising and was bleary eyed for the next two hours.
The planned highlight of the day was significantly better than hoped for. This was only the first of two programmes about the recreation of St Pancras station at a cost of £800 million to become Europe's premier railway destination, transporting 20000 people a day. The first programme brilliantly conveyed the tensions and conflicts between the architect designer responsible for maintaining the standards of listed 1 building, satisfying Heritage standards which is something I have learned a little about over the past two decades are exacting, together with the missionary zeal of the architect to produce a building with a quality finish which will last another 125 years, and with the commercial interests to build on budget and on time and where significant bonus payments were to be obtained. It was evident that those involved were in the big league, likely to have interest in projects such the 2012 Olympics and the new London Thames flood drainage system. Reputations made or were therefore of crucial importance.
The surprise therefore was the unexpectedly honesty of the programme, revealing four interesting and genuine personalities. The lead architect, on his own now when in the beginning he had worked with a team of 40, was in despair as short cuts were made because of costs and time scheduling, and he was left to fight the 900 responsible for getting the engineering and building work completed according to time and budget. I know a little about the problems of project control and coordination, having attended a short management course and subsequently being accountable as lead client officer for the replacement of several old buildings by purposed designed projects. These were modest buildings in terms of cost and numbers involved but they affected the lives of vulnerable individuals, young, old and disabled.
The lead architect broke down at one point, threatening to resign until talked out of out by a colleague and told to stay in to fight his corner for all his might. He was up against a formidable budget controller who interestingly was a woman who combined likeability and good communication skills with a determination which could still build an empire but on budget and on time. She explained, with great charm, that she had one of many conversations such suggesting how £25000 be saved by doing x, but then asked if this was achieved could £15000 be used on y and where she had to point out that each was a separate issue, and one felt that not only would she question hard why the £15000 was needed but also if more could be saved by doing z instead of y. It was also evident that she was able to get everyone else on her side by setting their goals with the carrot of the bonus structure which also interestingly had not been revealed to her.
The other extraordinary young woman was in overall charge of completing the under train level which is now being publicised as the feature of the station with up market shops and the longest champagne bar in the world, and which makes it different from being one other international transport centre. She came a cross as a little powerhouse of directness and honesty which I suspect would have won the Great War in half the time. The fourth individual was the man responsible for finishing the lower ceiling on time when the prefabricated panels arrived very late and then in bulk. The lass thought the architect should have been firmer saying on camera what she thought of the individual in question. She was obviously right but so was the Architect who explained that if he had been tougher the individual might have broken under the pressure and then they be!
I am a great believer that any building reflects all those involved, the commissioners, architects, engineers and every construction worker. I have yet to see the second part or the building itself which is now on my agenda for the Monday of the return journey from London in December. (I have the beginnings of an idea in that if as I now expect from a recent e mail I will receive the free first class ticket from GNER I will use not for a trip to London in the new Year but to Paris, even if this only involves one night or two stay.) But if tonight's programme is any indication the visit to the station will also be important because the building involves the recreation of the past made relevant for to day and to morrow. This is what my work is all about.
While I was cool about the non appearance of the gas man as the morning progressed I could not concentrate on the work in hand and decided to progress further my effort to beat the computer 101 times at level two chess. I have altered my approach which previously was to reset the information table until it was able to 101 games without defeat or a draw. Now I included all games played at the level so as to have a record of the nature of task undertaken. That I did not think of this approach before is another example of my slowness. By the end of the day 153 are registered since taking the decision of which 143 have been won, 10 drawn, and no loses, also showing a run of two draws in succession. The current winning streak is 32 which has lowered the percentage of drawn games from 10% at the worst point to 7%. However this tells less than half the story as not included are winning runs of 56, one in the forties, in the thirties, two in twenties and several in the tens, somewhere between two hundred and two hundred and twenty five games I estimates more than are shown. But the third level will be inclusive, although I am not sufficiently confident to predict when this will commence as I still have moments when I press ahead when tired or otherwise not concentrating, and lose to a draw, in a situation which with a fraction of extra care a negative position can be reversed.
Once I have mastered a level of play I should be able to complete 101 games and anything less than that underlines the progress that has to be in having the kind of total self control that enables some to walk through fire, chop through thick wood ro endure multi facet deprivation. While by body has reached the point when it is too old to be put such a test in a practical way, I should still be able to discipline the mind which in turn should discipline my emotional being.
I believe that only then will all aspects of my work attain the standards I seek and I need. One physical manifestation should be long term weight reduction which will only come about by eating less quantities and for the time being cutting out all comfort eating, however tempting. The test will be to spread the eating of the Christmas goodies to a little at a time although the inclination will be to wolf the lot before Christmas Day, I have taken the decision not to plan too much in advance other than to get what food I will need to avoid the madness which comes over supermarkets in the week beforehand.
The gas man did not come between the allotted time of 8am and 1pm and it was 1.15pm before I decided to find out the position. I was put through to customer services after someone checked the record and could not understand why no one had arrived. I was told that the service operative had not indicated why she had not arrived and I would be contacted again. Thus the gas man became the gas woman.
I was then told that I should not expect a visit until 2.30- 3pm of if this was not satisfactory another individual could be allocated. I had no reason to doubt what was being said to me at that time. This fitted into my wish to go to Smiths, for to-day's DVD and in order not to be unduly long I took the car as a Asda and walked from there. It was very cold and the cold gets easily into my chest and in haste I had forgotten a hat and scarf. Beginning to think of Christmas was reinforced by the arrival of two undressed Christmas Trees either side of the central mast which appeared at the junction between the two shopping roads in town and the area of night clubs bars and restaurants, I speculated that this might be an unwise location as revellers revelled the closer to Christmas. Today workmen were in the process of enclosing the lower level of the tree so it was evident my misgivings were shared by the powers that be.
I returned home knowing I was likely to need another wee dram of single malt at bedtime if there was any sign of the cold wind on chest having lingered. I continued with some work, some chess and some in tray attending, all at a leisurely pace. Around 3.45 I decided to check again and this time it was revealed that the service operative had switched off their mobile phone, so I began to question if there had been any contact earlier. I was told that my job had been pinned which meant I was the next job to be allocated, but at the time I assumed this was in relation to the previously mentioned service agent. I rang again after 5.30 assuming that as no would be coming I needed to when they would. This time I was told that the attempt had been made to arrange for someone to come but emergency calls had intervened. This was reasonable because of the cold, priority had to be given to mothers, especially with young children and the old, and then I realised of course that this included me. A new appointment had been made for between 12 and 2 tomorrow. Somehow I suspect this will be an ongoing situation although this confirms the wisdom of having done a good house make ready.
Throughout the day I had the TV on the umbrella channel for the option of then uninterrupted radio channels as the selection was good and stayed good and I was not tempted to watch a film, until the evening meal, a ham omelette with oven chips. Ok it should have been salad instead of chips but once a fortnight should be alright and it was a few chips. I will do some smoked mackerel fillets and vegetables tomorrow with perhaps an early soup and roll or two tomorrow around 11.30. I must plant bulbs for spring flower although I do not want to disturb the window boxes yet as the pink/purple flowers planted in April have continued despite the cold nights.
I did watch three TV programmes this evening. The first m over the evening meal there was another chunk of Bonanno, a two part Mafia story stretching, as they all tend to do, through illegal gambling and women, work contracts and protection, on to prohibition and into drugs and legitimate business involving friends in the police, judiciary and in politics, the codes of honour and the need for redemption as life draws to a natural close. One day I will make a point of watching the whole programme as it seems that for years I have watched half an here and hour an hour there. I was reviewing this writing with a programme about Johnny Cash in the background when I remembered to check and loo, the second of Bonanno is on in a few minutes. Time to get the evening meal underway. There are aspects of Ground Hog day today.
This reality of experience past present and future only served to underline the stretching of credulity of the current Spooks series which bravely but unsuccessfully in my judgement attempts to make each programme separate but part of an ongoing series. The writers appear to be doing everything they can to drive a wedge between Britain and America painting us as the goodies and the US as the baddies in the security services, although if this is an accurate portrayal of our present security high ups I would sack the lot for incompetence. There were two glaring examples in tonight's programme. It took sudden recognition that there must be a mole within the system to arrange a full security sweep for bugs of all kinds. Now any five year old these days, well a bit of an exaggeration, but most older children know that if you are in any kind of organisation where us may wish to know what you are going or thinking of doing, you pay to have the best sweep to establish security at regular but irregular intervals. If you are the top security organisation then you will do it continuously. The second is that you will have surveyed every reservoir system and water supply system to ensure that the controls are available to isolate if the supply becomes contaminated in any way and that trhere is an automatic detection warning system for anything which could potential harm the public. Anything less than this is criminal negligence. But then of course I go back to my own experience and starting praying that things have improved over the past two decades.
This morning was milder and the gas man cometh and all is well but after a winning streak of 45 games However I did get round to making two important communications. I need to relax a little this evening.
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