It’s mid-morning on the last Monday in February. The weather is grey and dull which quite accurately reflects how I feel at the moment. Five weeks into my new post and the novelty has now worn off. I need to re energise myself about this job. Also I am missing my last office. Not so much the staff but the whole location and feel of the place which was much more like where I live than here.

Perhaps I’m just a bit grumpy as I had to wait 15 minutes for a bus this morning having missed two which came together at my usual stop. I decided not to run over the road to get on them, confident that the next one would be along in six minutes as per the timetable. Another lesson learned there then.
And the driver was one of the mad ones who hurtle down the road at breakneck speed.

Despite today’s criticism I have been quite impressed about how reliable and clean the buses are compared to the last time I used public transport regularly. I suppose that was a different time and a different city and I am only using the buses at commuter time during the week. But, so far, things on the buses are looking OK.
No gangs of lairy lads with their trackies tucked into their socks have got on any bus I've been on,swearing and shouting at each other in their almost indecipherable council estate Geordie patois. Also no gangs of teenage girls screaming at each other and smelling of cheap perfume have disturbed my commute.

Just screaming primary school kids with their Mams shouting at them to “Sit doon”, "Stop your crying" and “I’ll tell yer teacher on yee”