Have a great journey

As day dreaming goes, I was on the bus yesterday and as other buses passed me I noticed at the head of the bus the location that is always lit up telling people where the bus is going. Sometimes it has helpful locations, sometimes it says something and you have no idea where it goes but apparently it's the right bus to get on, and most times they say out of service. A crazy thought entered my head while I was thinking about this. Wouldn't it be great if instead of or as well as having 'out of service' , they could have another message that says 'isn't it a great day?' or 'good afternoon Britain!' .......I mean wouldn't that be fun? It would make bus journeys less tiresome, well that's if other buses drove past you which, if you're in London or some other big city is very likely. I reckon we should liven up the roads a little bit.

The Bullock family

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/mar/19/gesine-bullock-prado-cakes-sandra-bullock

It's nice to see someone making their dream come true :)

The Sellers

What I don’t understand with The Big Issue is how there are so many people that sell it in such different ways. Walking through the town centre I passed one of these sellers and as I was about to say no, thank you with a guilty edge to my words, the seller broke into a cheesy grin. I’m not even exaggerating. He turned to face a business man who was fumbling around for change to buy one of his magazines. The seller looked so happy. His smile was contagious. This business man may have made this other man’s day. I wondered then why there aren’t more sellers of The Big Issue like this one. Why is it that there seem to be fewer of these happy, enthusiastic people selling it? I see sellers that are either begging furiously and saying things like ‘you’ll have a guilty conscience!’ or ones that are sat on the floor whimpering. Surely the magazine would sell more with brighter, cheery people making quirky comments such as ‘come on, drugs and alcohol aren’t cheap’. Yeah, it isn’t entirely decorous, but it’s a joke. And I bet that most people wandering in and out of town would find it funny. I don’t know if it should always be so serious.

Why beg furiously and whimper? It gives The Big Issue a bad name. This publication has a reputation; it is mocked. If the sellers are going out of their way to invade people’s personal space, causing claustrophobia and annoyance, this magazine will simply be hated. What will be associated with this magazine are the words irritating and frustrating. If the sellers huddled up on a shop corner zap everyone with a pang of guilt as they pass by, people won’t want to go anywhere near the sellers; they’ll do their very best to avoid eye contact.

The Big Issue needs more optimistic sellers, offering people not only a magazine, filled with some good quality stuff, but also a free smile. I just think that a magazine would sell a lot better if the person selling it didn’t push away people with their desperation, but instead drew them in with a smile. From a human being to a human being. Not from a frustration to a busy human being. The Big Issue needs a change of reputation and the only way to do it is to change the way it is sold.

Exploration

It's incredible how I've lived in Bath for well over a year now and I have only just found the most beautiful parts of the city. Today is warm and the sun is shining on everything. I decided to go on a long walk and explore; we haven't had one of these days in ages and I wanted to make the most of it. I walked and walked and kept walking until I didn't recognise where I was. I love finding new places and seeing new things. It gave me a buzzing feeling and I felt like a proper tourist, snapping away with my camera. There is usually so much more than you think around where you live that you just don't see. We need to do some more exploring! I was so shocked when I realised how little I actually know about the place I live in. But it's a great feeling; fresh and revitalising. I encourage anyone to pick a nice day and venture out to places you don't recognise in the place that you live. It's exciting.

goodbye early morning walks...

Ok, well it is 9.23AM and I am in bed writing this blog. The 7-9 thing didn't work out. It's not that I couldn't get up, it's that the bags under my eyes are being pulled down by an elastic rope and I haven't been able to think creatively for a while now - which affects me greatly. Also a cold is on its way. If I could go to sleep at a decent time every night I reckon I would be fine, but seen as I seem to have inherited this extremely unhelpful insomnia, waking up at 7 to go on a random walk just doesn't fit into my priorities. Once I get back into a sleeping rhythm where I stop falling to sleep at stupid o'clock hours I will pick up the 7-9 thing again. But for now, a lie in is necessary if I want to do well in my degree that very much requires focus and creative thinking....all that is on my mind is sleep. And there's only so much you can write about sleep - one being a blog.

Who needs dentists when you have cheese?

Well, cheese it is I suppose. This article in The Guardian's Life&Style section really interested me. One because I love cheese and two because I hate going to the Dentist. I might just start eating a bit more cheese after my meals...no harm in that, I'll quite enjoy it.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/mar/15/the-inside-track-cheese-teeth

I can't breathe....I can't bre....

Wearing corset's must have been a complete nightmare for those in the earlier centuries. I mean, they literally pull everything in, leaving no room to breathe. None at all. I went to the Royal Wedding Dress Teas in Bath today which was fabulous; the wedding dresses were elegant, the cakes were delicious and the lecture we were given was really interesting.

I tried on a corset....the first couple I tried on were very large and kept falling off me but then regretfully I found a corset that did fit me and oh how I wish I hadn't found it! I buckled it on me, breathing in so it would click around me and I looked up to the ceiling thinking how on earth did people cope with this on underneath a heavy dress as well?! The women had to dance in these corsets that strangled their air supply, they had to have poise and they had to be polite in them. Who would want to say 'thank-you' and 'good day Sir' when you've got a monster trapping you in some kind of death sentence? They must have had more patience and optimism than I do.