WHICH WAY TO TURN

The Leeds trip has been done; the Union Mandarins are well aware of our little problem, but I feel like I have sacrificed myself in the process, or something like that. I feel completely let down by a union who advises us to oppose our bully at every turn, to make sure none of the BEC positions go unchallenged. That's all very well, but that leaves two of us, neither of whom are particularly well-known or popular within our vast office, to challenge three positions amid voters to whom the term apathetic would be a compliment. The fact that I am currently not a Union Rep, having been denied that by the bully, means that I will only be supported in a kind of proxy way - Rob and Sonia will receive the full support which they can then pass on to me should they so wish. I think I'm fucking disgusted, and am currently considering leaving the union altogether.

The rest of the trip was rather wonderful - just wandering round Leeds and admiring my favourite city was quite enough on its own, but getting to meet some fellow bloggers for the first time was the icing on the cake. I have made some firm friends there.
I found it difficult, being away from the family, those sudden moments when you think "shit, if something happens there is around 400 miles of distance between us" are not nice. I also found that I was constantly on the move when alone - not particularly scared or agitated by anything, just a feeling that I had to keep moving, and I thought after the Friday that I might have overdone it a bit, but all was well after a few beers and a night's sleep.

The journey back was arduous. The train went all the way from Manchester to Pembroke Dock, which was good in that I could go to sleep with no fear of overshooting my stop, but it also meant 81/2 hours of uninterrupted travelling, with no refreshment trolley after we had crossed the England/Wales border ("they don't put them on on a Sunday, see?")
I did fall asleep, though only for a couple of 20 minute intervals - there were just too many stops for it to be in any way relaxing - about 25 stops in total, so it was a fairly regular stop-start regime. We did miss out Swansea, which I was happy about, as it meant that the lunatics who normally join the train there had had to get an earlier train, but we made up for it at Llanelli, when a couple of exceedingly drunk arseholes got on, and had to be coaxed off again at Burry Port, which took a good half hour. I felt relieved when we were on our way again, but as soon as we had left Carmarthen my serenity was dealt a further blow, with a guard announcing that anyone heading for stations beyond Whitland had to go to the back of the train as it was to be split in 2, so we remaining passengers were herded and corralled into a single carriage, where the floor was awash with beer and piss and the covers had been removed from the lights leaving stark bare fluorescence. Very Restful,as you can doubtless imagine. Fellow passengers ahd given up all pretence of being human by now, as they always do once past Swansea and away from prying eyes. Grown women were standing up on chairs to talk to others, the bloke behind me stretched his legs out across the aisle and and laid flat out with his feet on the opposite seats, jolting the back of my seat every time he fucking well moved, which was fairly often. There was a poster by the door extolling us all to "Be Considerate to Fellow Passengers and Keep The Noise Down When Travelling".
I coccooned myself within my MP3player and did my level best to ignore everything, and eventually got home around 10pm with no incidents to report.
I couldn't be bothered with work today, nor could I be bothered making up an excuse, so I waited for them to phone me, and told them I had an appointment with a nurse from the memory clinic (which was true) which I must have forgotten to tell them about, and was certain they'd assume I was taking the piss, but all seemed to go OK. I'm thinking of taking a further few weeks off, but if I do that the chances are I won't be going back, either being pushed or jumping makes little difference.
I've noticed during the writing of this that I've dwelled on the negative and skirted around the positive. I'll make an effort to be more positive soon.