Lessons learnt yesterday

1. You cannot leave an elderly Ford Ka in the frost for a week and expect to get the ice off the windscreen in less than half an hour, however much spray you use.
2. The central locking on the other (posher, but still ten-year-old) car can get totally frozen up, so you can't get in, drive, or get to the station.
3. Trains are easily missed.
4. (Better news) Two ticket inspectors are capable of not noticing that the (booked) ticket for the missed train are being illicitly used on the next train (result!)
4. Taking a grown-up son to buy a suit for a Special Birthday present doesn't really work, as he is too old to be accompanied by mummy, and feels very awkward. So the suit doesn't get bought.
5. There's an Italian restaurant somewhere south of Oxford Street that serves horrible food. Son was very polite. I was disappointed (it was supposed to be part of the treat).
5. "Broken window in carriage A" is a new excuse for train being suddenly delayed. We were in Carriage A, and there was no sign of a broken window.
6. Yesterday was very, very, very cold (but then you already knew that).