Music - Where's the Inspiration? - There it is!

There are many things I possess. Talent is unfortunately not one of them. I try to resurrect old ideas in trying to make an album, but seeing as there's no..Real basis on which I can begin. I'm still stuck dreaming a dream. Nothing tangible can be seen as of yet.

Why do I have no talent. Because I can't be arsed, my guitar is sitting there.. Gathering dust. Occasionally I do clean it off, but my house is a dust magnet anyway, so it's a short matter of time before, well... Before it comes back. I will eventually actually getting round to tuning it. But knowing my bad luck, those strings will break.

The Sax, is at present in about 1000 bits either on the other side of London or on the next road. I have made a request for its return, but still no reply from the culprit!

The bongos. I don't own a pair... But I want to. No doubt they will be in the corner at the end of summer gathering a nice thin layer of mould.

The Singing. Yes... I know... No excuse. I miss singing. Since my voice broke for its second time (the minute I stopped being annoying)I haven't really practiced. I'm too shy to open my mouth, even in the shower. I will happily sing mumble on the phone.

Until recently, I have felt really uninspired by anything.

Everyday is just a chore.

Get on the bus, get on the Victoria line, get on the circle, Hammersmith & City or
district line and walk 2 minutes. And repeat in reverse order

It was only until today, I met the manager of the Underground Development at Kings Cross. I was able to get a quick sneak peek at the Western Ticket Hall. The new hall opens on Sunday, which means my usual journey will change....

Now I will be going through Liverpool Street. Yes that adds an extra hour on to my journey. Why?? Because the new crappy ticket machines at Kings cross never seem to work. Plus there's nothing more inspiring than looking out the window. Compare the green pastures and reservoirs of Walthamstow Marshes, to the blackened concrete and wires of the Victoria line tunnels. Right I'm bullshitting now.
But that plus some good music leads to inspiration.

You got selfish tendencies,
You got selfish tendencies,
And your thoughts of the other one, Don't make it easy.

So Don't think about her pretty lips
And Don't think about her Honey Skin
And Don't think about her standing here
And how she nearly took you in.

I have to mention Lizz fields (http://www.myspace.com/misslizzfields).
Her music is inspiring in many ways (Won't go into depth). It's also on constant repeat on my ipod. The lyrics are tight, the melodies are sweet and the overall production is trés magnificente. (Where's my thesaurus, I'm not the best at expressing myself). Her Debut CD "By Day By Night" must be bought. Although sourcing it may be difficult, it's definitely worth buying, just to support such a talented independent artist. Check out the songs Star Gazers, Simply Put, Selfish Tendencies, Hey, and Silent Symphony. I might as well list the rest of the tracks!..As there isn't one song that doesn't meet such an excellent standard. And as if my addiction for her couldn't fade, she has a new LP called LizzPossible . I'm going to see (he says cheekily) if I can interview her. Fat Chance, but anything's possible. I'm inspired!

Get run over by a Rainbow Train and see how you like that

I love trains right, more than the average person. But there are some people who really really love them and can't help but want to get close up to them. Lets call them Trespassers. There have been quite a few accidents along the lea valley line recently. All been in the media too - The two guys who got run over by the stansted express in Edmonton. And those two girls who were run over in Elsenham up on the Cambridge Stretch.

I was lucky enough to read the 70 page report on that particular accident. Yawn!

Na it was actually quite an exciting piece of literature which basically said - It was their fault. I like that verdict. If I was a "hyped up on sugar" teen on my way to shop in Cambridge and I was 20 seconds away from missing the train, then I would do anything to catch it. Joe public condemned the crossing as being unsafe, however anyone quick to blame the railways will fail to take into account the layout of that situation... To take into account that there were Warning Lights, a big fuckoff sign AND 2 types of Klaxon (One for First Train and One for Second Train). The railway is as such an open system. Fair enough anyone can wonder on, but they must do so at their own risk.

I almost shed some tears while reading through the diary of One Tn see [Tues 21st March] http://www.one-tn.co.uk a newly trained driver who experienced a fatality. I shall quote

It was only my fifth solo driving turn and a day given over entirely to Stansted Express services and, surprisingly for me, started without incident. Unfortunately, it didn't last. As I was driving through Clapton station on my way back down the airport, a person ran out from behind the steps to the ticket office and jumped off the edge of the platform directly in front of my train. Even though I sounded the warning horn and applied the brakes, there was no way that I could avoid running the person over.

Right, I'd hate to be that guy. I'm not gonna lie.

So I'm gonna rant on about the technical side of the rails.

There have been many overhead line problems in the area. And they've been happening in the worst places imaginable. 4 times in the last 4 weeks. In these instances bad maintenance of the overhead wires, has led to the pantograph (piece of equipment on a train that transfers current from the wires to the train) to get tangled, which can bring the whole lot down.

Most of the faults have been occurring at night before end of service, but even then passengers aren't notified in the morning. Not even the media are notified. Management can't even decide to use the diversionary routes because they were all ripped up as a cost cutting scheme yonks ago. [see Beeching Report]. So there's havoc when ya get to the station. There have been 3 times when I've seen abandoned trains half hanging off the platform in Walthamstow Central. No lights No Power. That's when I say to myself, "I'm glad I take the bus".. It's actually quicker!

Ok so you lot are probably wondering, how the fuck does he know so much about trains, it's kinda scary. The first major book I read was London and Its railways. A book which is self explanatory in it's contents. What is so inspiring is that here we have a very very old system that has barely changed for nearly 200 years which is still in use today. Even though the hustle and bustle and overall pace has changed, these pieces of history barely haven't. Ok albeit with slight refurbishment. I saw this picture of Chingford Station when it opened. It was seen as the gateway to Epping forest, for recreation and leisure. It's purpose hasn't changed. I say that ironically because the stupid connections with the buses make it easier to commute to Walthamstow.

If something is out of the ordinary, I will want to know why it is so. like..

Why is the One West Anglia Timetable so odd. You will have trains every 15 minutes and then random 30 minute gaps? (That's cos of the stupid management)

Why when using a Lea valley line level crossing do you always have to wait for not 1, not 2 but 3 trains to pass? (That's because of the stupid Timetable created by the stupid management)

Why can't Chingford Trains go to Stratford?
(that's because of Stupid Network rail who can't be arsed to put that track back in... All 100 metres of it. But even then the stupid timetable will be cocked up by the stupid management)

And even after all of this. I'm going to be working for them in summer. How Ironic

Yo Yo

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