December 18

Get up way too late for my regular bus, so go to the bus stop that allows me more options. As I stroll up the hill, down comes the bus....start running (generally far beneath my dignity), but hey, it is -3 degrees C and I am not waiting another 15 minutes. Stick out my hand and realise bus is going way too fast. Start waving madly, then jumping up and down shouting "Stop! Stop!" Well the bus finally stops - just about at the point where I started running for the bloody thing in the first place. So I start to run down the hill but my scarf gets wrapped around the only tree on the road and I just about strangle myself. Unwind scarf from tree which promptly falls on pavement. Pick up scarf & ignore stares of 32 passengers who are looking at me as if I'm a complete and utter madwoman. Run down hill and get on bus. "Oh," says the bus driver, "I thought you were waving bye bye................"