St Paul's Memorial Service for Victims of London Bombings

Thousands will also watch at Trafalgar Square

Today at 3pm there will be a memorial service in St Paul's Cathedral for the 52 people who were killed in the horrific terrorist attacks on a bus and the London Underground on July 7th. The family of the dead, plus the many hundreds who were also wounded and severely injured, the emergency services and also the Queen, Prince Phillip, Ken Livingstone and Tony Blair will attend the service at St Paul's.

The service is by invitation only, so will be relayed on giant screens at Trafalgar Square so many more people can take part, report The Guardian.

Yesterday on the eve of the memorial 33 year-old Martine Wright who lost both her legs in the attacks gave her first TV interview on Tonight with Trevor McDonald. Martine criticised the Government's compensation scheme in late September in The Guardian - here and here.

Some of the family members of the victims are refusing to attend today's memorial. "Some are bitter about what they say is a failure of support from the government in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks. Others blame Tony Blair's decision to go to war in Iraq for making London more vulnerable to suicide bombings." report The Guardian today and The Evening Standard last night.

However, fellow blogger Rachel one of the survivors of the King's Cross blast (a group called King's Cross United), who sometimes comments on this blog, will be attending though. She said:

"The BBC are covering the whole service live on BBC1 from 2.40pm until 4pm and simultaneously on Radio 4. You can listen to the service live on the internet stream of BBC Radio 4 and if you are in London , you can gather in Trafalgar Square to watch the service live, where we all gathered on 14th July Vigil (which me, Neil and Geoff also attended), ......"It was only the BBC that was sensitive enough to say: we won't interview service attendees - bereaved and survivors and emergency service/police/London Underground staff. We realise that this is a big day for you and want to leave you in peace.".......

If you do nothing else today, I urge you to spare 25 minutes to listen to a very graphic, but important interview that Frank Gardner (himself a paraplegic as the result of a terrorist attack) from the BBC did yesterday, where he speaks to some of those who were injured in Tube carriages, who only now feel strong enough to talk about their experiences, and members of the emergency services who worked on the London Underground that day. He says: "The trouble with the term 'injured' is that it doesn't really come close to covering the life changing wounds that some terror victims sustain and of course not all of these are physical" This is one of the best interviews I've heard which really helps you to come slightly close to understanding what it would have been like to have been in one of the blasted Tube carriages that day.

Rachel very much sees the memorial as a way of taking some steps away from the horrible things she saw and experienced in the tube carriage and says that afterwards:

"I can write about other things on this blog. The bombs have been so much a part of my life, and after tomorrow, I hope to take some steps away from them. They and the after effects will always be with me. But there are so many more things I want to live, and think about, and write about. And after the memorial, I can."

She's a very brave lady and it's mainly her we have to thank for being an online voice for the people whose lives have been changed by that terrible day.

Where have all the police gone?

Why no Transport Police on my journey to work today?

Why did neither me nor any of my four other colleagues of work see not one policeman or woman on public transport this morning?

A moment's diversion

Coronation Street Fans and Status Quo fans - top charity auction

Some of you know that I'm a massive Coronation Street fan so I had to post the following on my non Tube Blog. This is only interesting if you like Coronation Street or Status Quo. But if you do, it's very, very interesting.

No drinking on public transport proposals

Can't drink, can't smoke, what can you do?

With apologies to Adam Ant's top song Goody Two Shoes - looks like the "Nanny State" is at it again with various people (including the opposition and RMT's Bob Crow) getting up in arms over Tony Blair's proposal to ban alcohol from public transport.



The Sunday Times wrote: "The Government was in retreat last night over proposals for a blanket ban on drinking on all forms of public transport. Amid protests that it was indulging in 'nanny state politics', ministers said that there was no intention of stopping people on trains having drinks with their meals in restaurant cars and that any action taken would be 'proportionate'.

However, The Times has been told that action against yobbish and drunken behaviour on public transport is under serious consideration after a brainstorming session at Chequers last month of plans for Tony Blair's 'respect agenda'.

Pressure by the British Transport Police for measures to stop people who have already been drinking carrying large amounts of alcohol on to buses and trains is likely to be answered by the Government with new powers, ministers said."

There's a huge amount of double standards going on here, as one minute licensing hours are being extended (which will have a big effect on railway pubs) and then we're told we can't drink on public transport.

There was also an interesting feature in Friday's Evening Standard about Londoners' leisure patterns and how what you did to have fun and interestingly, how you then got home, was effected by what part of London you lived in.

According to a survey carried out by lastminute.com, half of North Londoners admitted to drinking until they fell down and worryingly, they then went home by Tube. East Londoners were also most likely to go home by Tube, although only drank 2-3 units of alcohol. South Londoners were also light drinkers with 2-3 units but then they would go home in a mini cab. West Londoners drank higher levels of alcohol 5-7 units, but then walked home.

Admittedly a lot of this is do with how much public transport there is in your area and shows that the Tube system doesn't operate that brilliantly in South London. Generally when getting home, 52% used the Tube, 31% mini cab and just 2% drove. Six out of 10 believed that alcohol was essential for a good night out.

Scanning machines introduced on Heathrow Express Stations at Paddington

But London Underground won't have body scanners

Just in case we haven't had enough railway news today, just thought I would report that airport style X-ray machines and body scanners will soon be launched at Paddington station's Heathrow Express. From the front page of Metro:

"Critics including train operators, say imposing extra checks at all stations would be too expensive. Transport Secretary Alistair Darling will tell Parliament on Wednesday he would like to start enforcing added security checks at rail stations.

"But the Association of Train Operating Companies said: 'We have an open access network and it is simply not practical to put in airport-style security at every station.'

According to the BBC - "Brian Cooke, chairman of London Travelwatch, said there was no system available that could cope with the volume of Tube passengers.

He said everyone wanted maximum security but there were concerns the checks would mean more delays and congestion."

Back in Metro - "Transport for London added 'Body scanners are completely impractical on the London Underground. Heathrow handles 67.1 million passengers each year - London Underground carries 976 million.

'You can just imagine the delays if such technology was introduced on the Tube. We are constantly reviewing technology to see what could be potentially employed - but body scanners are not an option for us. Our stations just don't have room for them'

So what is it lads, too many delays and impractical or not enough room or both?

Spot the "deliberate" mistake

Busking Cartoon from The Londoner

I love Sheriff Ken's monthly free newspaper The Londoner as there's usually a laugh on every page (very few are deliberate jokes though). November's was particularly good though with this cartoon on the Letters to Ken page:



There's no prizes for guessing, but can anyone see what's wrong with it?

SPADs (passing red lights) have trebled on the London Underground

Not SPUDs, SPADs - Signal Passed at Danger

Well it's certainly been a day for London Underground news today. I learnt this afternoon that the number of Signals Passed at Danger have trebled on the Tube.

The BBC reported today that "In 1995 there were 296 signals passed at danger (Spads) but in 2004 it rose to 969, which the London Assembly's Lib Dems says points to "complacency"." It's interesting that I'm now hearing that this increase is being spun as better records being kept of SPADs not that there are actually more SPAD's.

Anyway, Lib Dem Transport Secretary, Geoff Pope said: "The failure to tackle the spiralling number of Spads smacks of a history of deep malaise and complacency over many years from LU. Serious questions must be asked into how, over years, LU has failed to deal with the ever-increasing number of Spads.

"While the Tube does have comprehensive safety systems, passengers will worry that a technical failure might lead to a collision and loss of life."

You'll be pleased to hear that London Underground are not too worried that it will lead to possible loss of life as there is something in place to stop over-running trains. A spokesman said: "Safety is our top priority. The Tube is equipped with Automatic Train Protection (ATP) so if a train does inadvertently pass a signal at danger it will be brought to an immediate halt. Driver training is kept under constant review and we work closely with the infrastructure companies, Tube Lines and Metronet, to improve safety and keep the Underground as safe as possible"

Thanks. I feel so much more reassured now specially as I know that Tube Lines are taking good care of the Northern Line after the problems we had with drivers refusing to drive unsafe trains earlier this month.



Loving this cartoon and particularly the comment above about the Northern Line and the PPP debacle from the week's Private Eye.

Happy Halloween

The obligatory Halloween blog post

It's hard taking Halloween and London Underground related pictures, so I've had to use a picture from last year, of this woman going to a Halloween party and texting her mate on the tube at Hammersmith.



If anyone has any good Halloween and Tube or London Underground pictures, send them in today and I'll put them up. Cheers.

Tube Fashion Victims Week 3

London Underground victims of fashion

It's that time of the week again when I look at some great fashion victims I've seen over the week on the Tube. As usual there were so many to choose from, I've selected the best below:

Lavender Printed Corduroy Suit

I know she's an old lady, but she was clearly trying to look hip and trendy with this natty little suit. Quite what she's doing on the Docklands Light Railway in the rush hour was beyond me too, but she gets full marks for this fetching ensemble:



Just Gay Enough?

Also on the DLR I sat opposite a guy who I think was clearly too old to be wearing button badges. But I know a number of you like them. He was clearly in touch with his feminine side too if the fur collared raincoat was anything to go by and the "Just Gay Enough" shoulder bag with the lavender trim. To top it off, he was reading The Secret History by Donna Tartt to show his literary side



She's a slave to her feet

Well this poor girl was, with plasters nicely peeping out form the top of her shoes to protect where some shoes had been rubbing:



Gold Trainers, Green Socks

Another shoe wearing error. Horrible metallic trainers mixed with bright green socks and white trousers. At least she didn't have metallic handbag:



What look shall I go for?

This woman going up the escalators at Tottenham Court Road, couldn't make up her mind. There's the trilby hat look. Then there's sort of weird cowboy influenced riding boots. None of which went with the tweed skirt:



Kinky red boots

At Bank station I saw a poster for the new film Kinky Boots,



and then just on the other side of the platform a woman tottered along wearing a similar pair. Very spiky, very red and she even had some cropped Twiggy trousers to go with them

Farewell to the Routemaster Number 38 & Free poetry event

The last of the old double deckers hits the dust



It's funny how the London Underground ad for this is singing the praises of the new bendy bus and not like a lot of Londoners bemoaning the loss of the double decker (check out Diamond Geezer's requiem)

My friend James sent me details of a free event taking place on Sunday to mourn its passing:

Farewell to the No.38 Routemaster Bus

SUNDAY 30th OCTOBER

An Evening of Poetry with

JOHN HEGLEY, LUKE WRIGHT & CHRIS HICKS
(FROM AISLE 16)
DJ DARYL 'MAGIC BUS' EASLEA

FREE ADMISSION - Starts 8.30pm - In the Bar of The Old Red Lion Pub

FRIDAY 28th OCTOBER is the last day of the No. 38 Routemaster Bus which stops outside the Old Red for as long as anyone can remember..........

Slowly, month by month, route by route, London is losing one of its most famous symbols: the Routemaster bus - a bus designed and made in London, by Londoners for Londoners, which is to London what the gondola is to Venice. In terms of postcards, books, films, and cheap souvenirs, and in the eyes of the world, the Routemaster represents the city just as much as Big Ben. It was the last bus to be have conductors as well as drivers, the last bus to ring familiar shouts that are at least a century old: Fares please, Full up inside but room on top, Next stop the British Museum!

The last bus, in other words, to be a proper bus.

Come join us at the Old Red Lion and celebrate the passing of this lovely bus you can jump on and off.

John Hegley used to be a busconductor! Luke Wright used to travel to work on the 38! Daryl 'Magic Bus' Easlea promises to play lots of 'bus' tunes from his fab vinyl collection.

My last few weeks on the Waterloo & Shitty Line

I'm saying goodbye to The Drain

Contrary to popular belief I do have a life outside of the London Underground. A selected few of you will know that I will shortly be leaving my current charity job and joining the corporate world again. It's a truly fantastic job that I'm highly excited about and one of the best things about it means that I'll be waving goodbye to the Waterloo & City Line and saying hello to the West End again. Hoorah, Hoorah, Hoorah.

I've been doing very late nights winding down from my current job and yesterday evening ended up walking through the rarely seen deserted walkway to the Waterloo and City Line.





So you'll be pleased to know that you won't hear me moaning and moaning about my nightmare journey when the Waterloo & City Line is closed for about five months next year. But my sincere commiserations go out to anyone who will still be travelling on it.

Also, no more City and DLR tube fashion victim posts from a few weeks time, but more of the weird and wonderful fashion disasters of the West End. Believe me there will be plenty!

"I Like Trains"

Metro's band to watch

Intriguing idea reported in yesterday's Metro "Despite the atrocious name, this Leeds five-piece are not 'wacky' pop punk chumps..... I Like Trains sport shabby British Rail uniforms on stage wihle projections of disaster movies flicker in the background.... the uniforms seem to turn them into anonymous conduits for lost spirits"

One of their tracks "The Beeching Report" is "a ghostly lament for the mass dismantling of the rail network in the early 1960's. You should be sensing their chilling presence soon".



Check out their own website www.iliketrains.co.uk where they say:

"iLiKETRAiNS met in the Northern Transport Hub of Leeds in the Spring of 2003. Windswept platforms provide the inspiration and a love of music that is progressively English and glacially Icelandic holds them together. They play songs of disaster, murder, betrayal and railways while antiquated projectors rumble and claw their way through films of disaster, films of snow and a film of Raquel Welch in a bikini."

Bizarre!

Where to find love on the London Underground

"Love" on the Lines

I must thank Rob from Londonist (don't forget the open invitation to their first birthday party - see ad on the top right) for sending me a link to a great press release that was issued yesterday by snoglondon.

"Looking for love? Wondering which route home to take tonight to maximise your chances of meeting that foxy single whose eye you might just catch? SnogLondon, the coolest site for London singles, has surveyed over 5,000 singles to give the Tube map a whole new meaning - we've mapped it out for love!

Which lines to take, which to avoid
The Northern line, despite its reputation as one of the most unreliable, oldest & dingiest lines, has the greatest share of singles across the entire Tube network (a whopping 28%). So there is light at the end of the tunnel - you might be stuck between stations every morning, but you'll be in good (single!) company.

Steer clear of the Metropolitan line, which, with a meagre 4% share of the singles network, is a veritable wilderness for singles.

Guys, make a dash for the Bakerloo line which has the highest ratio of single women to men. Get your coat, you might pull.
Girls, ride the East London line to avoid the competition - fewer women and more men mean you're in single heaven.
Tube, bus & train travel is one of the favourite flirting grounds among Londoners, with an almost unanimous 100% saying a bit of flattering attention can set them up for the rest of the day... so don't be shy about cracking a smile... just try not to leer, and boys, keep it above chest level..."



The press release (click for even more stats) is about 1,001 times better than the website (which I found fairly difficult to navigate - and I use the net a lot).

When I'd eventually worked out how to find people from my nearest tube - Richmond I found that I could get a free month's trial if I emailed them a better picture of the station (nice idea) - so you can see how they are really trying to build up the community aspect of the site. As LoveLines has only just launched, I'm sure you will soon see many more pictures of the actual stations on the site and many more singles!

Isawyoutoday.com

I'll still use this as an opportunity to give another plug for Isawyoutoday.com.

I blogged the site in passing September, linking it to my pet subject of James Blunt's single You're Beautiful - about passing someone on a crowded subway and sharing a bit of a "moment" with them, thinking "They're beautiful" or "They're hot" and realising that you will never see them again. (Please regular commenters no more on James Blunt - 43 comments in one throwaway post - I understand that the more vocal of you don't like his single - even though the awards and record sales show otherwise).

Anyway, this is where isawyoutoday.com can help, as it attempts to reunite or get star crossed commuters together. You can leave a message to that unknown person you saw on the District Line or Misery Line in the hope that they may have had the same idea and left a similar message about you, or at least read the site and think - "cool I can now get in touch with that hot chick/guy".

Isawyoutoday.com has actually been going for years (since 2002 - I think - when I added it to my main site), so consequently loads of people who have left messages. It's a cracking site and you never know you might meet Vicky on the Victoria Line or your Josephine at Waterloo!

Tube Fare Evaders could be ASBO'ed

And London Transport fare evasion fines may rise to Fifty Quid

I have a confession to make. Before barriers were introduced on the London Underground, I used to evade fares like mad - or rather - deliberately travel outside of my travelcard zone. We are talking, I spose, over eight years ago now, as I knew that at certain stations like Kew Gardens or Richmond, that there would often be no one checking tickets and before the advent of barriers you could walk through "scot free".

Obviously it's harder to evade fares on the Tube now, due to barriers at virtually every London Underground Tube station (possibly with the exception of Shadwell DLR - any other stations like this?). Over the years, I've seen people vault barriers, "tailgate" - ie walk really quickly and closely behind the person in front of them so they go through on their ticket, pay Child fares and use all sort of scams to avoid paying for a ticket.



But now it appears that fare evaders, if caught, will have to pay the largest fine ever: "People who evade paying transport fares in London could be fined up to £50 and persistent evaders issued with Asbos" (Anti Social Behaviour Orders) report the BBC today.

"Transport for London (TfL) is consulting on a private bill that will go before Parliament in November.

Last year it raised the fine from £10 to £20. If the new legislation is given the go-ahead it will rise to £50.

The bill will also give TfL the power to apply for Asbos for people who continually fare evade, which the organisation says costs it £70m a year.......

Speaking about the fare rise, TfL's Steve Burton said: "We want fare evaders to know that dodging their fare will no longer be an easy option.

"The majority of our customers pay the correct fare. A small minority don't and this costs TfL approximately £70m a year, money which could be spent improving London's transport network."

This is all well and good, but this does mean that Transport for London may end up doing sensible things with their money instead like taking a woman to court over an accidental one pound, twenty bus fare evasion.

London Underground Art

Private Paintings of the Tube

It's a shame the following paintings aren't public on the London Underground itself, but they are very good.

The first was sent to me by Ralf - The Cartoonist and shows the almost photographic like quality of artist Michael Mau with his painting "The Northern Line". Michael Mau lives and works in Hamburg.



If you visit Ralf's site you'll be able to see a great level of detail in the picture.

The second was sent by a regular commenter who would prefer to remain nameless and he saw it in The Times on the 15th October. Basically it's a mural in the offices of Marshall Wace, one of the largest hedge fund groups in Europe. (No, I have no idea what a hedge fund is - maybe it has something to do with topiary like in Little Britain)



Marshall Wace seem to be tube geeks and like the tube so much they commissioned a graffiti styled London Underground mural for their Mayfair offices.

I like the way the roundel on the Tube has their company name in it.

I am not addicted to Sudoku

I sooooo blame Metro

Why, did Metro have to put this stupid puzzle into their paper? This is now the second Sudoku puzzle that I've completed while commuting. I started it on the train on the way into work yesterday. Then left the paper at work, went out with Rob from Londonist in the evening and then coming home, I picked up another copy of Metro, started it afresh and finished it and in doing so missed one of my stops, as I was so busy concentrating on the stupid thing!



D'OH, D'OH, D'OH.

UPDATE - OHMIGOD - I completed my third Metro one this morning on the way to work in record time (for me) - I think I need help!

Do Bee-have

Bloke in Korea celebrates subway line opening with bees

I have no idea why, but "A man covered with some 260,000 bees rides a bicycle at a square near World Cup Stadium in the southeastern city of Taegu, Thursday. He did the trick to celebrate the opening of the second subway line in the city on Tuesday." according to the Korean Times on the 20th October.



And speaking of the Korean subway, you may want to check out the pictures of the North Korean Subway - or the Pyongyang Metro System itself, which someone, who wishes to remain nameless, sent me. It looks like an amazing system.

Comments are not working

Sorry, Haloscan, my commenting software is having a little rest

Just as I was beginning to think that no one had anything to say today, it appears that the haloscan commenting software is having a London Underground moment.

No ETA on when it will be fixed either, so save up your comments for later or email me instead.

Ta!

Riverboat commuting is on the rise

Londoners "turning" to boat travel after London Bombings

This is so weird after my post of yesterday with Neil and mine's riverboat cruise, as today The Daily Telegraph have reported that riverboat commuting is on the rise.

"Commuter traffic on the Thames has soared since the July bombings as the river attempts to reverse the decline of the last 40 years......"

"The dramatic rise in the number of Thames commuters - 80 per cent higher than the same time last year and 40 per cent up on the pre-bombings level - comes at a time when optimism over the future of the river is at its greatest for more than a decade......"

"Peak services are operated on a 220-seat craft, with a journey from the Savoy pier, on the Embankment in central London to Canary Wharf taking 20 minutes, 10 minutes quicker than the tube. Read the full story from The Daily Telegraph here and our riverboat trip from Kew to Westminster with other transport issues below.

Tourist in your own town

Riverboat Better than London Underground?

Every so often it's good to be a tourist in your own town. I had lived in Kew for about seven years and yet had never taken a boat trip from Kew Pier into Westminster or even the other direction out of London and into Hampton Court. But today, Neil and I decided to do it. We intended to go to Hampton Court cos it was prettier but due to lots of miscommunication between me and the guy at Westminster Passenger Service Association we ended up going to Westminster instead - a 90 minute leisurely journey.



Neil will blog a lot more of the pictures on route, but I'm sticking to the tube related-ish and London Transport stuff for the blog and it's more to do with what we saw when we left our boat (below) at Westminster.






When you come up from the boats and get to the top of Westminster Bridge, it is heaving with tourists and whenever somewhere is heaving with tourists you'll find people trying to sell them a lot of tourist tat.

I particularly liked the London Underground Map Boxer Shorts with "Wapping" station prominently at the front (an indication of the size of the wearer's men's bits?)



I had to buy some batteries for my camera, so went to the stall holder and used my best London accent and said "Sigh, so how much will the batteries be here?" She looked embarrassed and said "Eight pounds for a pack of four". I feigned shock. "You are joking?" She looked embarrassed again, "You could go to Tesco's, it's not too far". Obviously I couldn't be bothered, "Well would you just sell me two?", and fortunately she did for four pounds - still a rip off, but hey I needed them.

So I thought it was quite funny to see her sign saying that she accepted Euros above the little London Underground roundel badges. I felt like adding "and blood"



Going across Westminster Bridge and the inside of it was covered with a promotion from Transport for London highlighting their 5 year investment plan of providing a fast way for people to travel round London



So there were lots of images showing how quickly you could get to Westminster from various parts of London, using a variety of public transport. It was pretty appropriate to see the Kew Gardens to Westminster by boat one



Admittedly it took us 90 minutes but we weren't on the commuter route which I think uses faster river boats. I also liked the two below:





We walked down along the river towards the London Eye going past City Hall and the Dali Universe gallery



Finally, as were coming into Westminster on the boat we sailed past the brilliant "Ducktours" boat/bus. This river boat turns into a tourist bus and leaves quite near to the London Eye. We heard the driver asking if anyone from France was on board as they would be driving past Trafalgar Square (London is currently celebrating the bi-centenary of the Battle of Trafalgar)!



All in all, a good day being a tourist!

Acton Museum Depot meets the Dust Masker & Nikki

Go today while the Dust Masker is away!

I mentioned in Thursday's post that the London Transport Museum's reserve collection is at the Acton Museum Depot and has an Open Weekend this weekend.

Well Neil and myself couldn't go but we did meet up with regular commenters and tube challengers, Dust Masker Anthony and Nikki (Fimb) for a few bevvies in the evening after they had finished.

It sounded like they had a great day and they showed us pictures on their digital cameras of the highlights. They'd even bought has back some rather fetching hats which will be blogged later, as Neil and Anthony modelled them in the pub.

Anthony has already emailed me some of the pictures and a few are below so you can see the sort of things you can get up to there.



Volunteer & Tube Relief entrant David Scard with Nikki



Anthony "driving" the train - God help us!



David Scard donated his Tube Relief T shirt to the Museum.



Anthony reclining on a District Line Sofa



Here are our luvverly models Anthony & Neil in the pub afterwards with the rather strange baseball caps from the museum. Picture courtesy of Nikki



Many more pictures of the Dust Masker (which were expertly taken by Nikki) are on the Tubechallenge Forum. And Nikki's pictures without the Dust Masker are in her Flickr set for the Acton Museum Depot, so you can see it's not just for the men in white coats!

The one below is very X Files:



The Acton Museum Depot is still open for visitors today!

UPDATE - More pictures from Toby Bryans

Toby Bryans emailed me with a link to the pictures he took on over the weekend with a great picture of the little model Tube Train that people could ride on:



Many thanks to Toby for sending the link through.

Just to satisfy the sudoku addicts

Sudoku on the London Underground in Saturday's Times



Abigail does them on the Tube and can't get enough!

Welcome from The Times

Blimey

What's the world coming to? This blog is featured in today's Times. Ooooer

"The Tube is an abiding obsession for many and the London Underground Tube Diary at www.london-underground.blogspot.com should be loved by anyone who has been mesmerised by Harry Beck's classic map design. Annie Mole's blog is an irreverent and informative must-read for everybody, not just subterranean commuters."



Cheers guys - and welcome to everyone from The Times. Hope you have fun......