1) Access to the M1 northbound. I used to be able to go to a mates’ Shadowrun games in the evening – but the journey from Chiswick adds an hour to the journey time – so its now totally unworkable. Plus a large chunk of my friends live in Nottingham.

2) Lack of metered water. My new flat has no water metering – my bill is 3 times what it used to be a month – outrageous!

3) Good beer. Chiswick is unfortunately the home of Fullers. So I have to put up with minging flat pints of London Pride everywhere. Very occasionally I get a drinkable one – but really – it’s not a very good beer IMO. Relative to the Farmer’s Boy (my old local) and its very well kept microbrews – this is quite depressing.

On the flipside:

1) Living in Chiswick means no more do I have to travel on the antiquated rolling stock of Thameslink, with their super inflated prices. My commute time is down to 25 mins each way (from 1hr15) – which is very pleasant.

2) My flat is close to a main nightbus route – so going out late on Fri/Sat night in central London is feasible without having to budget for a 70 quid taxi fare.

3) A certain old mate of Stephan’s doesn’t know where my flat is now!

Still no damn cinema, though, and the historic one in London Road lying empty, bits falling into the street.

When I was back over Easter I wandered around town for about the first time in 4-5 years and I found that there is a real divide in the town centre between the “cosmopolitan” part (south of the Maltings/Town Hall) and the slightly “cheaper” top of the town centre. Still no cinema tho (STILL) and nothing much else to do when the pubs close. Plus ca change.