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Stacey

Train pain

I’ve been moaning a lot on Twitter these past few weeks about (and to) the company that run the rail franchise that I have to use to get to and from work. So much so, I’m now boring myself! The failures of Govia, which includes Southern Rail and Thameslink are well documented, and seemingly never-ending. The company appear to have carte blanche to cancel hundreds of services daily and in fact, are now approved to do so by the Government.

I’m sure the reasons for the appalling service are complex and multiple – I’ve read both sides of the published story: The unions who feel their members are being treated unfairly and the company who blame the unions and their staff for the problems, while penalising them through removal of train passes and, allegedly, overtime. But by far the biggest cost is to the passengers.

I leave home at 7am every day and I return at 7.45pm if I leave work bang on time, without working any extra hours or staying late to go out. It’s not a big deal, lots of people work long hours and I choose to live outside London so I can live in something larger than a shoe box. But my ability to do so is completely and utterly reliant on a functioning public transport system, where delays and cancellations are the exception, not the norm.

On any one day in the past few weeks, over 500 services have been cancelled on the Brighton to London line PER DAY, and today new timetables have been announced that cull 2 services an hour – 341 trains a day. Basically they are cancelling trains to avoid having to cancel trains and yet, with these cuts come no reduction in fares. Yep, the £4,600 or so I pay every year will now buy me 15-25% less service. Regardless of whose fault it is, it is quite astonishing that customers are picking up the brunt, both financially and emotionally, of this catastrophic mis-management.

I say emotionally, because I believe it is true that this disruption on people’s daily lives – on their ability to get to work, to hospital appointments, to job interviews and to go on days out has a tangible affect on stress levels, mental wellbeing and overall happiness. Not being able to get home to your partner, to pick your kids up or arrive home safely after a night out with friends is atrocious. You can’t guarantee getting to work on time – if you work for yourself that has a direct cost – and you can’t guarantee being able to get home on time. So all social arrangements are out of the window. Personally it causes me anxiety and frustration and increases my stress levels. I know they record punctuality and service performance, but I bet no one is recording impact on individuals and their stress levels during this disruption.

An Office of National statistics report published in 2014 looked at the relationship between commuting and personal wellbeing and the results probably weren’t that surprising, though I’m not sure the research asked questions around reliability of service as a factor to influence stress or unhappiness. It said that commuters who spend 60-90 minutes travelling to work each morning suffer the most, and are the most miserable of all of those surveyed. ‘The effects of commuting on personal wellbeing were greatest for anxiety and happiness, suggesting that commuting affects day-to-day emotions’, the report states.

So, how would they now measure the effects of harder/longer journeys to work, regular disruption, longer days – all brought about by the inability of Govia to run their business properly? I did a straw poll on Twitter (where else!) and the response was overwhelmingly that the situation is causing anxiety and frustration, and in two cases, caused people to actually change jobs. Overcrowding is also a huge issue for people, inducing claustrophobia and panic attacks.

But I bet no one is really surveying customers or thinking about customer experience right now. And I wonder how many current passengers would choose to use the company if they had any other option at all? Very few I would imagine. I also wonder if customer experience or brand reputation matters when you run a service that is effectively a monopoly over one of the busiest London-bound commuter routes and the Government gives you a billion pound to do so? And I also wonder how much you really care when your customers don’t receive full refunds while your CEO pockets £2.1m in bonuses?

At least I’ve got lots of free time, waiting for cancelled trains, to ponder it.

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5th July 2016

Live

2016: Part 2

It’s not technically the mid-way point of the year yet, but hitting the longest day does feel like a milestone. It certainly feels a long time since my holiday in India at Christmas, and this is a good moment to take a breath and mark the first six months of 2016 – and more importantly, look forward to the second half of the year.

Although January seems a long time ago, time seems also to have flown by since then. I started the year rested, but not entirely happy at work. I was starting to ask myself questions about what the next few years will look like (must be turning 45 that did that!) and whether I was excited and inspired where I was. After running my own business for such a long time, I was sure it wasn’t a hidden longing to go back to doing that full time, but more the feeling of not being happy where I was that was starting to creep up on me. Some fairly significant changes around Easter-time were unsettling, but quite quickly in the few weeks after that all the things that were bothering me were resolved and I am now the happiest I’ve been at work for a long time. I’m working on some great service design projects, with real grown-up business and delivery challenges. I’ve helped to bring in a new piece of business from a personal contact and building a team and seeing people develop beyond your expectations is properly joyous. There’s exciting things in the pipeline and I’ve reminded myself that when I’m happy, I’m hungry. Hungry to do good work with great people and to keep learning everyday.

When it comes to work, I’ve got the butterflies back in my belly. Yay!

But, I am tired. Really blinkin’ tired.

With the ups this year has come some downs – my Nan has been unwell for most of the year and in and out of hospital. At 90 years old it’s always upsetting when she gets ill, you can’t help wondering if she’ll recover and it puts massive pressure on my Mum and her sister. Last month my Dad was hospitalised and had to have surgery a week or so ago. It turned out not to be as bad as it could have been, thankfully, but for a time we were unsure, and once again we repeated the pattern of a Summer spent visiting hospitals. For my Mum, between my Nan and my Dad, it’s the fourth one on the trot. So I’m not the only one that’s tired.

Because it’s been a tough couple of years in that respect, and I haven’t spent a huge amount of time with my parents this year, we decided to book a family holiday – just the 3 of us. A lovely, relaxing mid-year break to recharge the batteries. That was curtailed by Dad’s illness and has now been rescheduled for later in July. I’m trying not to look forward to it too much, just in case lightning strikes twice in the same year, but it really can’t come quick enough. In fact, through lack of planning rather than by design, I seem to have bunched everything up and I’ve got a rocking part 2 of the year to look forward to, including:

Going back to the gym – again
A week in Antigua with the parents – sunshine, rest, cocktails and spa
Aperol Spritz’s in the sun
Race for Life in Hyde Park
A week in Spain with the husband – cycling (him), lying around (me) and some Birthday fun in Marbs
Going out more on the back of the motorbike
Losing some more weight
A quick trip to Italy, to meet Madgie after his epic ride from Venice to Rome
Seeing Funny Girl in July
Afternoon Tea at The Savoy
A walk over The Dome
Going to the theatre to see Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen
2 days in Barcelona with the the boys – now 18 and 21. Looking forward to taking them abroad and showing them the sights
And possibly…a trip to Cartegena to watch him give the motorbike a spin round the track and catch some late November sun

Then…dare I say it, planning a Christmas at home, which will be a novelty. I bet it whizzes to December 🙂

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21st June 2016

Live

Waiting, waiting

I should be in Antigua with my parents right now, all of us enjoying our first holiday alone together in a very long time.

But I’m not in Antigua with my Dad. I’m on a train, on the end of the phone, waiting to hear that he’s come out of surgery after 15 days in hospital. It’s not like being on holiday at all, this waiting and hoping that everything is all right. It’s a bit shit, really. Especially for Dad.

14th June 2016

Live

4 days off…

…over the May Bank Holiday started in the right way, with drinks and dinner at the local pub. Perfect way to ease into a long weekend. Cheers!

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26th May 2016

Eat

10 things you learn when you go out alone

Well, I had a lovely time on my evening out alone. First, hairdressers, followed by dinner at Foxlow then cocktails at The Gibson. I didn’t read much of my book (I blame the lighting) and it was pretty hard to keep off my phone/IPad but I did have a nice relaxing time. As well as learning a few things:

The rest of the world is really bloody noisy when you’re on your own in a restaurant. Made me realise what a braying bunch of noise mongerers me and my friends must be.
You notice the speed at which you drink (first one, fast) and feel much more self conscious asking for a second (and third) drink than you do when you’re with someone else.
Putting your phone down is way harder than you think. Which means it’s way harder to be completely out of communication with other people.
It didn’t feel uncomfortable AT ALL. The restaurant was busy and I felt a bit apologetic asking for a table for 1, but only a bit. It didn’t feel like anyone was bothered.
I really don’t know what wine to order. I only drink white and when the 3 or so I know I like were not on the menu I was a bit flumoxed. Turns out Resiling is nice.
I was having such a nice time I wished I’d invited some friends along to share it. Which makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
You have to eat a whole desert. Which, ya know, isn’t a problem because chocolate with salted caramel is awesome. How did I not know this?
When there is sticky toffee pudding on the menu, most of the men in the restaurant will order it.
The bill is so much cheaper. Obviously.
It’s a bit like being invisible, in a good way. Not a superpower-good-way, but a quite nice people watching way.

It is Clerkenwell Design Week this week, so the whole area was buzzy, with people taking advantage of the shows, viewings and drinks parties.

: Table for 1

: Salted caramel chocolate

: Lovely bar

: Vintage shakers

: A chocolate coin

: Steak and salad

: In on the act

: Hello lover

26th May 2016

Live

Solitude is the soul’s holiday

Tomorrow something unusual is going to happen. I am going to have an evening to myself.

We are staying in London, but not going out together and I’m so spoilt for choice of what to do and who to see, that I’ve decided I can’t decide. So I’m going to finish work and then I’m going to sit in the hairdressers for two hours getting my hair coloured, without having to worry about where I need to be or what I should be doing. I can just sit there talking nonsense with my hairdresser and reading trashy mags. And then, when I emerge with newly coloured roots and a spring in my step, I’m going to go out for dinner and a glass or two of wine, with only a book and a notebook for company.

For about a week I have toyed with the idea that I could have made plans, could have met friends or gone to an event or seen a show, or done just about anything that involved making an arrangement. But the most luxurious thing I was drawn to doing was to buy myself dinner and spend some time not talking or listening to anyone else. Just a tiny little bit of time.

I wonder if the ability to find solitude is harder today, with so much bustle and connection, and it’s odd that spending time alone seems such a treat. I’m sure too, that people will assume that a woman dining alone is doing so because she has to, or is lonely, or has no friends. However, according to my basic online research, seeking and achieving even small amounts of solitude has many physical and psychological benefits.

Psychology Today magazine reports that periods of solitude allow you to reboot your brain and unwind, can improve concentration and increase productivity. Funny how the idea of sitting somewhere quietly with your thoughts and a book seems so alien that there are pages and pages of stuff about how to do it online. Anyway, I’m looking forward to experiencing something I haven’t done for ages and it’ll be interesting to see how long I can stay off my phone.

Now I just need to decide where to go.

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23rd May 2016

Live

Best laid plans

Well, it’s fair to say my ‘30 for 90‘ plan didn’t go to…err..plan. I started with really good intentions, but it seems that even 30 minutes of structured exercise a day is too much to fit in, which is a bit sad really.

I’ve learned quite a few things though. I’ve learned that it doesn’t matter how loudly or confidently you state an ambition, that alone doesn’t make it happen! I’ve also learned (been reminded) that I’m really shit at these types of resolutions and I should perhaps be a little more realistic! That said, I’ve also learned that 30 minutes is the perfect exercise length for me, that I actually really enjoy going to the gym straight from work and that even when I haven’t been going to the gym I’ve been more active. This morning, for instance, rather than get the tube I walked from London Bridge station to Farringdon and then up four flights of stairs once I’d got there. I’d never have done that a few months ago, and the stairs didn’t kill me.

So, rather than beat myself up for not sticking to the plan, I’m taking the positives and I’m going to continue to exercise as often as I can. There’s actually still a few weeks to go and I’ve been doing more than I’ve done for years, meaning I’m much more confident to exercise now. I’m definitely going to use the gym on holiday in June. Again, I wouldn’t have even thought that before starting this, so I’m going to build on that. And when I set a huge goal in future, someone remind me that my inner rebel will only stick her oar in and tell me that going to the pub is a much better idea!

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16th May 2016

Design

Vogue 100

Hot on the heels of last week’s visit to the V&A, this week I took myself off to the National Portrait Gallery to see the Vogue 100 exhibition.

The show celebrates a hundred years of Vogue, through the photography and portraiture of the magazine. When you enter the gallery at first it seems strange that the collection starts at 2016, with the familiar faces and fashions of now, but as you move through the rooms and down the long gallery you realise that it’s perfect to be going ‘back’ in time, overwriting the familiar, and finally ending with wonderful evocative images from 1916 and the twenties.

I’ve never bought a copy of Vogue, so if you’ve never actually read the magazine it doesn’t matter. This show is all about the amazing imagery, and often also the subject matter. The wall size shot of Alexander McQueen as you go in hits you right between the eyes and that is followed by shot after mesmerising shot.

There were two things that in particular I loved. The first was the planning room, a small area that shows a series of slides from different shoots and then finishes with shots of the front cover or spread that the final images appeared in. The transparencies where also available to view on light boxes in the room – I wished I had a loupe to be able to really study them close up. They were captivating.

The second favourite area was a room that had a timeline on the wall and representative front covers from each decade. The changing styles of layout and type over the decades was clear to see and seeing the shots that you’ve seen in the exhibition then placed in the graphic design format of the covers, with the masthead and type, was great.

Obviously, the imagery speaks for itself and there’s a mesmerising piece of motion art on 2 huge walls – videos from shoots and other footage, which I could have stood and watched for ages. The show is beautifully curated and it’s a large body of work. We went in the evening and it was a perfect antidote to a busy Thursday.

Again, there was no photography allowed in the show so I’ve used some here from the Vogue website. On the way out I bought the accompanying book, which is wonderful. Rich and luxurious and something to pore over – which I shall be doing a lot of this weekend!

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14th May 2016

Design

Undressed at the V&A

Undressed, at the V&A is a show dedicated entirely to underwear, and I had a lovely time seeing it yesterday.

With 140 men and women’s pieces from around 1750 right up to the present day, the collection features not only the history of undergarments but also the role of underwear in fashion. There were some amazing exhibits, in particular a gold crochet dress from the 1930’s and an Alexander McQueen gown. The detailing on both was stunning, as was the design and construction of some of the corsets. There is one piece in the show which had been made for Dita Von Teese, which was lovely but also quite shocking – I think the waist size was probably smaller than the size of my thigh. It was teeny tiny, which I know is kind of the point with a corset, but I couldn’t actually imagine how anyone could have a waist that small!

I loved some of the 1930’s – 1950’s pieces, sexy champagne coloured girdles and this blue one, that looks modern today.

It’s not a large exhibition, so you can easily get round it all in a hour, and then do what we did and disappear off for a lovely lunch in the sun after!

Unfortunately the V&A are not allowing visitors to take any photographs of the show so I wasn’t able to take any shots. The ones used here all come from the V&A site.

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7th May 2016

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