Temptations on the Train
Yes, that was me scudding across Queen Street station last night, catching the 1840 to Aberdeen with seconds to spare. It was so crowded I had to fork out hard cash for a business class upgrade so I could do some work on the laptop. (Don't panic, we're not allowed to claim this back on expenses!). Yet the hard-sell techniques of the trolley staff (they're called Catering Hosts) do nothing to help my efforts to eat more healthily. I ordered a cup of tea:
"Would you like a muffin with that, sir?" said Dave, the trolley man.
"No thanks."
"Perhaps a wee bit of shortbread?"
"No. Just the tea thanks."
"How about a lovely Danish pastry?"
"No. Reallly. Nothing. Thanks!"
I felt like I was in a scene from a film. I'm proud to say I resisted all temptation and can now boast I've lost another three pounds on my Five Hundred Mile Diet. That's two weeks now without alcohol or daft snacks, but my mileage total is not so good. I only managed about five miles this week. That included a very long walk on Saturday morning and a late night canter around Aberdeen city centre last night.
Strange what you see on a dark Monday night on Union Street. Three young guys, maybe in their early twenties, were getting changed into full-sized animal costumes. One was a huge yellow chicken, the other a penguin and the third was a dog. Curiosity got the better of me and I asked them what they were up to.
"Not much, "said the big penguin, "this is all there is to do on a Monday night."
I think they might have been hiding something. But if you really want to know about Aberdeen, take a look at Tom Morton's on the subject.
