Train essentials

I tend to bitch a little bit when confronted with a train journey that takes an hour longer than usual due to "essential rail maintenance" but really there's a lot to be said for a journey that takes 6 hours door-to-door. All that concentrated knitting time does wonders for progress.

These are my train "essentials". OK they're luxuries really but I find they're what I need to spend the best part of the day on the West Coast mainline without getting too wound-up.



Please note how my train essentials are colour coordinated. They even matched my raspberry coloured cardigan (although not the white t-shirt, at least not until I dropped a blodge of cherry yoghurt onto it).

Cold drink: at the moment I really like M&S's not-from-concentrate apple and mango. It even counts as one of my 5-a-day too.

Greek style yoghurt with cherry compote: my absolute favourite thing. I am constitutionally unable (it would appear) to pass a Simply Food M&S without buying one of these. I don't think this counts as one of my 5-a-day.

Hot drink: tea from Costa. I admit that £1.60 is a ridiculous mark-up on a cup of tea but I do like that Costa charge the same amount for their large tea as they do for the small. It's only extra hot water after all.

iPod: in very worn Kid Classic case (must make new one). I tend to listen to audio books, podcasts and radio dramas rather than music as I find them more absorbing which seems to make the journey pass more quickly. Hurrah for BBC radio 7 (this week I will be mostly listening to Cold Comfort Farm). Yesterday I was listening to Sparkling Cyanide (a pressie from Felix) which was still going strong when I reached my front door.

Knitting: Hedera by Cookie A. This pattern is working up just as quickly as Monkey. Must be the Cookie A. magic.

Sitting in a comfy chair with a cup of tea, an audio book, a yummy yoghurt and my knitting, watching sunlit countryside flash by. It's almost the perfect Sunday afternoon.