After much swearing and rebooting, I have managed to get my laptop talking to my mobile and finally I have GRPS running (although for how long I do not know). I'm back from Mallorca late on Monday and so can restart my normal posting schedual. I also note that I've missed my third appearance on TV (from the 'Tube Run') the first being me waving at the camera during a Reading festival and the second being me opening a door into the back of a doctor during BBC's 'Trauma' series (they wisely only showed me from below my waist).

If anyone has a tape I'd appreciate a copy...

Although the holiday has been fun, I'm afraid I'm a Londoner born and bred and am dying to get back home. But at least I've had the time to finish Neal Stephenson's 'The Confusion', to slaughter ants in their thousands as they try to get to my cream cakes, and to sit on my arse doing nothing. (The first person to say "no change there then" gets a wallop on the nose).

Central Europe Time is a funny place to be - at least for someone so stuck on London as myself.

Ta-ta til Monday.

It is hot here, I can't find internet access and GPRS is costing me 10 pounds a MB. I'm feeling cut off, and I can't be sure that this is even reaching my blog. However I am otherwise enjoying myself - when I get back I'll explain how my mother got told off for being a terrorist.

So I cycle into work today to find out that (possibly due to a mistake at their end) my annual leave starts today. One cup of tea later and I cycle home. I'm not unhappy because not only have I cycled a round trip of nine miles, but I have the whole day in front of me. That and it feels like I'm playing truant.

On Monday I fly out to Mallorca, to spend a week in the sun relaxing by the pool. I'm taking my laptop with me, partly because I'm envious of Cory Doctorow's travel-sticker covered laptop, and partly because I want to do a bit of writing on various projects done. Also going with me are a couple of books, including the 'needs a suitcase all to itself' Confusion by Neal Stephenson - a book I'm so looking forward to reading I bought in in e-book and 'dead tree' versions. Also travelling with me will be some episodes of TV programmes *cough* downloaded, otherwise I'd miss out on the next episodes of The West Wing and Alias.

I'll try and post when I get there, this is dependant on whether I consider £10 a MB too much for my GPRS, or more likely - if I can find an internet café. I suspect the café will be a fairly safe bet, so if my next post has lot's of squiggles above the letters it's because I'm using a foreign keyboard.

If you send me an email, I'll probably only be able to reply when I get back, and then only if I don't over enthusiastically delete your mail while pruning the hordes of spam I'll no doubt have.

Right, I'm off to count my Diazepam for the flight out - take care y'all.

Quick question...

Would it be fun to ask (under the data protection act) for all CCTV footage of my run yesterday?

Lets give it a go.

It's the day after the Tube Run, and my lower body is one quivering mass of pain. If I sit down for longer than five minutes I get stuck in position and need to spend another five minutes warming up to start walking again.

So I decide to go for a bike ride, maybe that'll soften the old muscles a bit. It's a nice day, and I need to head into East Ham to pick up some contact lenses. So off I ride, I collect the lenses and then start making excuses to keep riding. Shall I go over to the industrial park to see if there is anywhere to tether my bike when I visit PC World? Shall I haul myself over to Gallions Reach to check that my Orange phone will work in Spain? Or shall I go to Asda for some treats to eat while watching the telly tonight?

So I do all three...

When I get to Asda I notice a lot of emergency services in the car park - taking a professional interest I wander over there, only so see a Newham ambulance crew showing off their shiny yellow ambulance and allowing loads of children to crawl all over it. Apparently it's a 'Meet the emergency services' fête, and the Paraffin Parrot is going to be landing soon. Obviously it's an easy day, so I grab some water for the lads and wait around for HEMS to arrive, as when they arrive on a job, I'm normally too busy to take a photo of it.
Apologies for the poor quality, but as I was cycling I only had my mobile phone with me.

This is HEMS landing

Just about to settle down, the Fire Truck in front of it makes it look tiny.

Just before the policeman just out of shot told me to move on, here is HEMS in it's "resting" state.

Incidentally I asked the policeman who was telling me to 'shoo' if they still marked your postcode on your bike...and he didn't know. Considering he is a 'community support officer' I find that a little worrying - it's like me not knowing what to do if someone cuts their finger.

First off - I'm bleedin' knackered, running around the tube is surprisingly hard work, that and the rather high temperatures made the day hard, but very enjoyable.

There were a couple of teams running, I teamed up with Ewan as both our planned partners were unable to come. The plan was to use the few overground areas to send updates to my blog, but there simply wasn't the time. When we weren't on trains, preparing for our next run, we were chasing each other through the stations, down streets and across busy roads.

Running from platform to platform our biggest enemies were other people - the more crowded stations slowed us down as people insisted on being two-breast on escalators, or decided to push their baby strollers out in front of the knacked looking man and his friend in a kilt. So it was a bit like driving at work.

Our route was thought up by Ewan, who to give him full credit, didn't laugh when I told him my idea of a route. I had thought that running between stations would be easy - I hadn't counted on our general levels of unfitness. Given that we were against a bloke who was a master of the sprint and someone who had run marathons I didn't hold much hope for our chances.

Mike, a BBC cameraman followed us for part of the way - so if you tune into BBC local news next week and see a 90 second spot with Ewan in a kilt, and myself in a "404 /shirt/tie not found" shirt, well - we worked hard for our shot at fame. There may be further links to extended videos later.

We had some good luck with our transfers - there was nothing better than running to a station to see the exact train that we wanted pulling into the station. But it was counterbalanced by the occasional despair of getting to the platform 10 seconds too late, regardless of how many 'no entry' signs we ignored, or how fast we ran.

Our time was 2 hours, 55 minutes and 39 seconds, the winner (git) came in at 49 seconds faster - beating us into second place, although we did have pride at beating the lads who hold the speed record for the whole tube system.

It was fun, although I often questioned the wisdom of doing it while wheezing my way between stations, but I can now say (with some nerdish pride) that I have at least visited every Zone One station - and not many Londoners can say that.

Just, for the love of all that's holy, let us not make it an annual thing...

It is a miracle that the thumb keyboard that I'm using still works, as it has been through a high temperature wash cycle.
I'm at the start waiting for Ewan to turn up wearing his promised kilt so at the moment I'm looking at the MI5 building, taking photos of it and wondering how many CCTV cameras I'm showing up on.
Time to get a sandwich I think...

So In a few minutes I'm off to race around Zone 1 of the London Underground with Ewan, partly because he is leaving London soon, and partly because it seems like a giggle.
Given my new found internet mobility (in other words I don't have to balance my Pocket PC and Smartphone on my knee trying to line up two IR ports), I shall be attempting to post updates throughout the day. This of course is dependant on when we 'come up for air' as I don't think that GPRS coverage is great underground.
You may also be able to follow us on the BBC as a BBC news cameraman will be following us around for at least part of the day.

I spent hours working on a route, and then when I spoke with Ewan last night, he showed me a route of beautiful simplicity which involves a lot less running around than mine.

So I'm sticking close to him.

I've just gotten a CF Bluetooth card for my Pocket PC. Couple this with my Smartphone (and camera) and you have a more mobile ambulance blogger.
Now watch me pick up nothing but dross today...

Our first, and so far only job was transporting a psychiatric patient from their ward to a Court appearance in a very nice, green and sunny part of London. We turned up at 8:30 and were told the patient wouldn't be ready until 9:00 - so we had time to get a nice fry-up breakfast.

Told you I couldn't give up junk food.

I discovered a few things about cycling today.

1) It won't take me two hours to cycle to work, it's actually closer to twenty minutes. Therefore leaving at 5am for a 7am start is not the worlds best idea. Especially when the night crew laugh at my legs because I'm wearing shorts.

2) It's a lot harder cycling into the wind than when the wind is at your back, and that the A13 is a very windy road.

3) That when you are as unfit as I am, you start begging for traffic lights to turn red so you can have a quick breather.

4) That a saddle will make your arse sore, no matter how you sit.

5) And finally, when, after a long day at work and all you want to do is go home - you might not look forward to riding your bike as much as when you pledged to get fit (and outlive your brother).

But at least I didn't end up dead under the wheels of a lorry.