For shame

There is presently some road works going on in Farnham. They are happening at the big intersection of the bypass and the road up to the station. And I really, really wish I’d caught the bus to Aldershot rather than Farnham this morning.

Because, this morning, on my way to the station to get my train to Guildford, the traffic lights weren’t working. There wasn’t a human directing traffic either. There was a group of workers talking about something but they were inactive and, therefore, entirely ineffective.

My bus sat behind a car that refused to cross the two lanes of the bypass even when it was clear of traffic. This, I assume, was because the traffic heading south was a continuous flow.

And so we sat. And sat. The bus driver complained, the other passenger on the bus complained but it wasn’t until the long line of cars behind us started up blasting away on their horns that the car actually moved.

As it turned out, all was well (though the other passenger on the bus didn’t get his morning beverage, having to run for his London train instead) and I sat and waited for five minutes for the Guildford train to arrive, latte in hand.

At the library today I was busy helping Heather sort out the contents of what she calls the Store of Shame. I think this is where lots of boxes of everything have been stored since the start of the move project.

She had me type up a list of the contents of two boxes and some loose books. Most of the books were the early 20th century transactions of the North East Coast Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders, headquartered in Newcastle.

It started in 1884 then changed its name in 1992. It still exists but its now called North East Coast Engineering Trust, a charity which is headquartered in Newcastle.

The best thing about these volumes was the fact that one of them contained a photograph of Charles Parsons (the turbine guy) because he was president for a bit. I’ve been a bit of a Charlie Parsons’ fan since finding out about his disruption of the naval review with his uncatchable Turbinia.

The Store of Shame stuff didn’t take long and I was soon working on the spreadsheet of who gets what with regards the disposal of books.

Before leaving, Heather showed me the plans for the library. She told me it’s been in the planning stage for the past 12 years and finally there were drawings.

The entrance will be moving so base passes will no longer be necessary. In fact the entrance will be going through our present office. The window in the photo below will be knocked through for a door.

The desks will be moved into the Reading Room and the first floor opened up. While next week will be as normal, everything will start to change up until late October when all volunteers will be stood down for building work to commence.

Exciting times.

My trip home was uneventful until I reached Farnham. While there was now working temporary lights at the bypass, the road to and from the station had been reduced to one lane going only one way. This meant the buses weren’t leaving from the station forecourt.

What a mess

I had to walk to the other side of Gostrey Meadow to catch the number 5 home.

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