Waiting outside the library for opening time has become something of a ritual for me. Its funny how its a daily ritual for a lot of others too, and the same faces keep on turning up. We pretty much arrive at our usual times, and line up in the same positions. The wonderful diversity of life hasn't quite colonised Swindon then.

As was easily predicted, the same librarian unlocked the door (We'll call her Miss K) , a fidgety thin girl who rushes around like a housefly. There's a power operated door and she unlocks that first, which I think is a good idea because the revolving doors are not designed for human beings to use. I have to shuffle round in a somewhat undignified manner and there's some embarrasing squeaking noises followed by a loud 'pop' as I squeeze out the other side.

Immediately the power door swung open the young man who's always there first turned and wandered in under his usual comatosed way, totally unaware Miss K had not given permission for him to do so. Oblivious and a little quicker off the mark than she expected, he plodded down the corridor before she could stop him.

"Don't come in!" She gestured at us to stop, "The door might hit you..."

Having already pressed the button to keep the door open, I looked at her a little increduously. She looked back at me and carried on talking "Well, you can come in now, its the door... sometimes..."

Miss K gave a deflated sigh as we all strolled in. Poor girl, she tried so hard to be efficient.

Old Friend of the Week

When I was a young boy my mother sometimes took me to Swindon Museum for a wander around. Oh come on. This was the time when people still had black & white tv that turned off at night and computers were the sole preserve of mad scientists. Anyway, in one room was a stuffed crocodile, a gharial, a narrow-snouted fish-eating relic that survived from prehistoric times. I've no idea why, but I used to love that exotic beast forever reduced to gathering dust.

Yesterday I was in my bedroom and happened to overhear my neighbours in the back yard chatting with their friends. A woman described how she often took her daughter to the museum to see the crocodile. "She loves that crocodile... Dunno why..."

I could only smile. That old reptile has been charming kids for generations. Still going strong.