I'm on the train

At last Virgin have equipped their coaches with WiFi and I can stop reading books and get on the internet as I travel. Is this good?

I've decided to immerse myself further in Protectorate records at the National Archives so cycled from home to New Street this morning at five - Birmingham streets to myself and a few street cleaning and refuse trucks - with a return ticket to Kew Bridge Lin has got me off the internet for just over £25. So we've bought into yield-management after my initial dislike of the service. From Euston, surrounding bus stops crowded as a result of a Tube strike, I cycled over the Thames to Waterloo Station and caught a train to Kew Bridge arriving at the National Archives by 0830 when the coffee shop opened.

Instead of continuing to scan through the 1862-64 papers relating to the end of the Protectorate, where I've been hoping to find clues to the 'petition' from Ano Korakiana against enosis, I'm going to have a look at the 1858-59 Colonial Office records covering William Gladstone's mission to the Ionian Islands and Athens, following, for the time being, in the prominent footsteps of Holland and Markides. It's not always a good idea to leaf through material without a more specific goal, but I shall allow myself that for the moment and see what turns up.

In the afternoon I shall head over to Southwark Town Hall to discuss Scrutiny with Shelley Burke who we've invited to do the final session on our 5-day Post-grad module on Oversight & Scrutiny (see p.15 in the PDF from CfPS May 2008 Newsletter.

* * * Email from Ano Korakiana:

Yassou Simon and Linda. Just a quick note to let you know how the swallows are getting on...as you can see by the photo all 5 eggs hatched and all of the young are doing just fine. Both parents are as busy as busy can be fetching the young ones food. Managed to get mum feeding them on camera ( I know it's mum as she has a shorter tail than dad or was it the other way round?). Weather here has gotten hot as to be expected. Hope you are both well. Mark

The swallows over Mark and Sally's front door in Ano Korakiana