RMT & The Nigella Express

Managed to finish work at a decent time last night. My aim was to make my way to the September WI meeting on the New King's Road. Usually I get the tube but due to RMT industrial action there were no tubes. There were buses alright though, so I went to Fleet Street to catch one. I stood by that bus stop for over 50 minutes. 2 buses stopped. Those buses were only going as far as Waterloo. In the end I had to call and give my apologies and go home. The picadilly line was limping along with severe delays and we sat in the tunnel outside Russell Square for about 10 minutes waiting for trains to get out of the way at Kings Cross.

I was, am still am, furious. I am fundamentally opposed to strikes as a way to make a point or achieve decision making. They are, in my mind, akin to a toddler tantrum. I see no reason why the paying London public should have to suffer three days of misery because maintenance workers previously employed by metronet would like cast iron assurance that their pensions will remain in place and that there will be no streamlining by the administrators. Assurances have been given. TUPE no doubt applies. They are not the first workers to be facing this issue and they won't be the last. Jobs are not always as secure as we would like them to be. Striking does not really hurt Metronet; it is the paying passengers that suffer yet again. We suffered the effects of Metronet's appalling lack of ability to maintain the tubes, falling behind with repairs, allowing material to fall from roofs and impair lines. Derailments have occurred due to their incompetance. And now, the strikes.*

So I finally made it back to the house at about 8.15pm. I had not planned any supper because I had thought I would be at WI so I decided that salad and cheese scones would be the nicest supper. So easy to make yet so delicious, the way that the butter melts across the spongy surface of the hot scone, accompanied by ripe vine tomatoes and crisp gem lettuce, cucumber and spring onion, drizzled in the balsamic vinegar that we brought back from Italy. And I ate my food curled up on the sofa, watching television. A flick through the channels and settled on Nigella Express. I watched her going about her strange pretence of a busy lifestyle which involved taking taxis everywhere, including to the supermarket, but it was actually rather enjoyable to watch and the recipes looked fantastic. I think I will try and get hold of a copy of the recipe book to go with the series. I especially wanted to try the croissants and caramel sauce dish which she makes into a sort of bread and butter pudding and then curls up in bed to eat, clad in a black silk dressing gown. I imagine that there are many males who are not watching the series for the cooking.

*UPDATE - It seems that Gordon Brown agrees with me - that the strikes are completely unjustified. He even tells them to get back to work.