The Return Trip on a Train
Often the rerurn trip is the most difficult for anybody to book.
Tomorrow, for instance, I am visiting Norwich, the two Nottingham clubs and then returning from Manchester Piccadilly. Of late, I’ve been booking an off-peak ticket for the return journey, as I know it can be used on most trains in the evening. Usually, in comfort too, except on Virgin’s Glasgow services. So if I’m early, I don’t have to wait until some ungodly hour to get my booked train home.
But tomorrow, the return Off-Peak single from Manchester was over £40, whereas the Advance Standard Class single was just £15. But as the Advance First Class single was only seven pounds more I took that. I’ll get the diffeence back in three cups of coffee.
It seems to pay well, if you don’t follow rules and check all options.
One Law For The Stone Roses Drummer and One For Everyone Else!
Apparently, Ian Brown, the drummer of the Stone Roses, was only fined for doing 105 mph on the M6. The full report is here.
Everybody else would have been banned, but then he has to get to London to see his son and for rehearsals.
There’s nothing wrong with the train and it’s probably quicker. He could I suspect also afford a chauffeur!
A Farce With A Cash Machine
On the 18th of October, I tried to draw £50 out of cash machine inside the Nationwide branch at Upper Street in Islington. I tried twice and this was in front of the nose of someone senior in the branch, who watched everything I did, as I complained to him about the slowness of the machine. In the end I got fed up, so I went and did my shopping and then got the money a few minutes later.
When I checked my statement, the next day, not £50, but £150 had been withdrawn from my account. As I was in Leeds that day, I reported it in their branch there.
It is now the 25th and I still haven’t had my money returned. Yesterday, I was virtually accused of doing something wrong, by the person in the branch. So I stormed out, vowing to move my account. I probably won’t as all I need is a simple money transfer system to pay bills.
But it does seem to be taking a long time to sort out a problem, that happened under the nose of one of the branch’s senior employees! The last tine this happened to me it was at an ATM owned by Santander. The money was put back in my account by the next day.
The sum involved is not everything to me, but I am a widow and to some in my circumstances, that £100 would be very important.
The Anonymous Widower 