North East to London commute

[Malaguena]

Knew a woman who’s husband worked for a French bank, lived in Kent travelled on Eurostar from Ashford to Paris 3 days per week after they relocated the function he worked in from London back to Paris.

In "normal" times, Malaga airport on a Monday morning has loads of people commuting to the UK for a couple of days work ..... me included

 

[Anton_Berg]

In the 90s I worked in Fulham and there was a young IT contractor who commuted from Doncaster. In a Cortina. The money was a big incentive at the time, I guess.

 

[buffaloboro]

In the 90s I worked in Fulham and there was a young IT contractor who commuted from Doncaster. In a Cortina. The money was a big incentive at the time, I guess.

Like the Sweeney. We all do what we can to put bread on the table

 

[BoroBukowski]

6:00am Darlington to Kings Cross 30 min walk to office. 18:00 from KK Darlington 20:30 Home by 21:00 Did this one day a week for about 4 months last year. Was not too bad most times trains were on time. Can work on laptop on train. Not done it this year and worked from home. Maybe this will be the way forward in future.

Surely the better option is to say there 1 night and travel back mid-afternoon the next day? E.g. 6am Darlington Tuesday, work late early to bed, early morning office start, leave early travel back at 3pm home by 6pm

 

[newyddion]

Got asked to take the comedy club down to London once a month last year.. only took it cos it was Vic and Bobs old gaff. Travel down Thursday morning, rent a cheap parking spot and book a cheap hostel across the road. Cheaper than the train plus got to sink a few jars on the night.

 

[buffaloboro]

Surely the better option is to say there 1 night and travel back mid-afternoon the next day? E.g. 6am Darlington Tuesday, work late early to bed, early morning office start, leave early travel back at 3pm home by 6pm

Bukowski as in 'bar fly?'

 

[homesickblues]

That would have been better but I needed to be in the office in NE the next day!

 

[BoroBukowski]

Bukowski as in 'bar fly?'

Bukowski as in Charles, the writer of the novels Post Office, Factotum, Ham on Rye, Women, Hollywood & Pulp. Of a hundred short stories and a thousand poems...And yes the movie Barfly was based on him. That's him in the picture BTW

 

[buffaloboro]

Bukowski as in Charles, the writer of the novels Post Office, Factotum, Ham on Rye, Women, Hollywood & Pulp. Of a hundred short stories and a thousand poems...And yes the movie Barfly was based on him. That's him in the picture BTW

How did you get ' into' him as a writer?

 

[WoodallServices]

Theres some ropey places in Paddington , or at least there used to be. Sussex gardens?

Gentrified now, a glass city!

 

[buffaloboro]

Gentrified now, a glass city!

Shame in a way, I used to like that London had identifiable areas, that were somewhat affordable.

 

[BoroBukowski]

How did you get ' into' him as a writer?

I did A-Level English Lit and considered doing it as degree then decided on something else, but still I was a literary teenager and I read A LOT OF BOOKS...by end of university I was mostly reading US lit

First shared house I lived in when I worked in London was very large with a basement and a UCL student who lived down there left a copy of "Women" in the shared kitchen, so I started reading it, found it addictive...

Read the most of the rest over many years in London, always reading on Tube or Trains had probably read +1000 books by age 35. At that time I finally read "Ham-on-Rye" the most auto-biographical of the novels and was blown away, a lot of identification with my own childhood & adolescence, so went back read it all in chronological order...

Have you read any of it, or just know the name from the film?

 

[buffaloboro]

I did A-Level English Lit and considered doing it as degree then decided on something else, but still I was a literary teenager and I read A LOT OF BOOKS...by end of university I was mostly reading US lit

First shared house I lived in when I worked in London was very large with a basement and a UCL student who lived down there left a copy of "Women" in the shared kitchen, so I started reading it, found it addictive...

Read the most of the rest over many years in London, always reading on Tube or Trains had probably read +1000 books by age 35. At that time I finally read "Ham-on-Rye" the most auto-biographical of the novels and was blown away, a lot of identification with my own childhood & adolescence, so went back read it all in chronological order

He admired Hemingway but said "there was not a lot of laughs there" so developed a similar style based on simplicity with added "force and humor". It is based on his life but written as fiction via his alter ego "Henry Chinaski", a perpetual outsider, and is considered "cult fiction" and not taught in many US Literature departments

Have you read any of it, or just know the name from the film?

No, I've read a few of his books. Long time ago. You've encouraged me to re-read some of his stuff again.
Two small pieces of US writers trivia:
Nathaniel Hawthorne actually lived for a while in Coatham ( close to Redcar).
I live very close to where jack Kerouac used to live when he tried to escape the drink culture of NYC. Sadly it didn't work, the bar where he drank is still open to this day (a rare thing in the USA).