A Very Good Football Trip
As I said here, my trip to Blackpool, yesterday, started well at Kings Cross.
As I had a few minutes before the Glasgow train to Preston, I had time to visit the Virgin First Class lounge at Euston. I think some companies charge extra for the lounge if you’re on a cheap ticket or close it altogether at weekends, but Virgin don’t seem to penny pinch like that at Euston.
The train was on time to Preston, but it did look very much like rain.
Approaching Preston
As I had booked to Blackpool North station, which is a walk of three kilometres to the ground, I asked if I could use my ticket to Blackpool South station, which is only about eight hundred metres. I was informed that there would be no problem by someone from Northern Rail! I certainly hadn’t found a Jobsworth.
The guy on the train gave the same story and I arrived at the station to walk to Bloomfield Road.
Walking To Bloomfield Road
I made it in plenty of time, walking in the sun, although the weather was threatening.
It really started to rain, just as I got under cover in my seat.
The match was a topsy-turvy affair, with Ipswich winning with the odd goal in five, scored in stoppage time. Ipswich were one-nil down at half-time, so unusually for a manager, Mick McCarthy threw caution to the wind and played with four forwards across the field.
He got the result all the Ipswich fans wanted and you do wonder, if he hasn’t found the best way to use the talent he has available.
I must admit, I did look at the two Blackpool goals last night on the BBC and I can’t help feeling that if Cresswell and Smith had been playing, one or both of these goals might not have been scored.
In the end the Ipswich fans all went about their journeys home happy with the result, so the two Blackpool goals didn’t matter.
As it connects better to the London trains, I decided to do the long walk to Blackpool North station. However, I didn’t have to walk all the way, as I found a 14 bus, that went near the station. There was the usual silly ticketing palaver, you get with a bus pass outside London and I do wonder if bus companies have shares in those that produce ticket paper.
I got a crowded train to Preston fairly easily, but it arrived there, just as a Euston train was departing. A Virgin employee told me, I had an hour to wait, but as I had an Off-Peak ticket I could take any train. I then realised, it would be nice to eat something, so as a Manchester Piccadilly train was alongside, a gluten-free supper in Carluccio’s at Piccadilly station beckoned. I could then take one of the more numerous trains to London. The Virgin also told me, that the Manchester to London trains weren’t busy, as City and United weren’t playing.
Where had all the Jobsworths gone?
I had my supper in Carluccio’s at a fast pace and made the 19:35 train with ease. I had intended to upgrade to First, but as I got four seats and a table to myself in Stearage, I didn’t bother. In fact the fifteen pound upgrade, I didn’t buy, virtually paid for my meal in Carluccio’s.
As I’d arrived in Piccadilly virtually dead on seven, I’d ordered, waited for and eaten my meal in about half-an-hour, whilst checking the news and the football results on the excellent wi-fi. So with luck, I’d be able to go straight home from Euston and catch the start of Match of the Day.
I did! It had been a very good trip.
In a few years time, going from London to Blackpool will be a lot easier, as they are electrifying the line from Preston, as part of the major electrification between Manchester, Liverpool and Preston. It has also been stated that this will mean a tour-hourly service of faster electric trains to and from London. But as I’ll still have the problem of getting a decent gluten-free meal on the way down, but as it will be a greatly improved service from Blackpool to Manchester Piccadilly, I can still go via Manchester and have a decent meal, whilst changing trains.
In fact, if like I did, you have a ticket from Blackpool North to London, you will have several stations, where you can change onto a fast train to London, if you just missed a direct train and didn’t want to wait two hours. You could change at Preston, Manchester Piccadilly, Liverpool or even Wigan North Western.
I can’t help but feel, that this long-awaited electrification is going to make a lot of difference to the whole of the triangle based on Manchester, Liverpool and Blackpool.
It should have been done years ago!
Welcome To Kings Cross
I started my trip to Blackpool, yesterday by going to St. Pancras station for breakfast at Carluccio’s, as because of its location it opens early at 7:30 am on every day except Sunday, when it is ninety minutes later.
So to catch the 10:30 train out of Euston to go north for Preston and Blackpool, it is convenient pit stop, as there is nothing but gluten-rich food at Euston. And also at Kings Cross, there is Leon, so journeys to the north for me, nearly always go through the station.
But it was very heartening to be greeted at the gate of the Underground by “Come on the Tractor Boys!” from one of the station staff. So it wasn’t busy, but one of the things that marks out the London Underground above most systems in the rest of the world, is the help, guidance and jokes from station staff.
It all makes the system go round easily!
I Miss My Boots
Boots in Islington is being expanded as I showed here.
But it now looks like May 2014 before it is fully opened.
It is a bit of a pain, as it is so convenient and very much up the ladder of helpful.
Does The RMT Care About Passengers?
I travel on trains a lot and I’ve never had anything but courtesy and fair treatment from railway staff in the UK. I’ve even had one or two, break the rules in my favour, when perhaps I’ve made a mistake. One actually said, that it was his company’s policy to put customers first, when the rule breaking was minor.
But today, there is a story on the BBC about the RMT protesting about the possible closure of the Underground ticket office at Whitechapel. Here’s the opening paragraph.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) are protesting at Whitechapel Tube station against the possible closure of ticket offices.
Now I’ve just returned from Palermo to London by train and I only used a ticket office once. And that was in Geneva, where I couldn’t find a machine to sell me a ticket for Paris!
i’ve only used a ticket office, once in the last three years on the Underground and that was to get a free ticket wallet.
If we’re honest, I think it is true to say that ticket offices are virtually redundant, but station staff definitely aren’t. Stand by the barrier or on the platform on any Underground station and you’ll be surprised at how many people ask questions or request help as they pass along.
Bob Crow is reported as saying this.
The threat to the ticket office at Whitechapel is a line in the sand as far as RMT is concerned and we will fight this plan tooth and nail.
I don’t think many of those on the overcrowded Dalston Omnibus on a day, when the RMT call a strike, will agree.
The RMT has also got into the stupid row about a possible third class of travel on trains. The story is reported here in the Daily Mail, who are very negative. This is in the article.
Bob Crow, left wing leader of the RMT transport union said: ‘Now we know, the door is open for the train operators to introduce third passenger class as and when it suits them.
Incidentally, I travel third class regularly on trains. It’s called Premium Economy and very good it is too, on Eurostar.
You could also argue, that First Class at the weekend, is much more of a Premium Economy class, than a true First, on many trains.
A Reply From Birmingham
After Ipswich played at Birmingham a couple of months ago, I posted an Open Letter To the Mayor of Birmingham. I posted a copy to him and today, I got a substantive reply from someone at the council. This is the e-mail I received.
Thank you for forwarding me the link to your open letter and I am sorry to hear that your recent visitor experience to Birmingham was not a good one.
As you mentioned New Street Station is currently undergoing a major rebuild as part of the Birmingham Gateway project. In April this year the east side of the station complex (the side closest to the pedestrian link to Moor Street station) was closed to facilitate the rebuild if that part of the development. This means that until the reopening of the whole station in the spring of 2015, pedestrians seeking to travel to Moor Street station will have to walk a less direct route around the station from the west side entrance. Whilst temporary pedestrian signage has been put in place which is soon to be supplemented with permanent “way finding” signs, we will respond to your feedback and look at ways the current signing arrangements can be enhanced to improve clarity for visitors.
With regard to the issue of pedestrians crossing at the Bordesley Circus junction I am pleased to say the City Council has recently been successful in securing for the necessary funding from the Department for Transport to carry out whole sale improvements to the roundabout. These improvements will include the provision of signal controlled crossings to help the pedestrian movement you have described and completion of the works is currently programmed by early 2015 at the latest.
That is very fair and it is good to see that progress is being made on the dangerous junction at Bordesley Circus.
Some Can Do Customer Service
i returned back today from some shopping and found the tickets I ordered yesterday from Ipswich Town on the mat. And then after I’d been in for a few minutes, a courier delivered some Coagucheck strips from Roche, that I’d ordered from their web site on Sunday.
I’d also had a good shop, getting the cord trousers, I wanted for the winter, to replace the ones of the same make, I bought over twenty years ago. They’re still the same size.
Arriva And Stagecoach
This morning, I used buses from both these companies. In fact it was one from the first and three from the second.
What a difference though in the greeting, as I clocked in with my Freedom Pass. All except one of the Stagecoach drivers were stony faced, whereas the other two gave me a big smile and/or a grin in response to my thanks for getting on the bus.
It does seem though that the Arriva drivers are the more welcoming.
Long may London’s buses be on the whole, a friendly place for tourists and residents alike!
A Crazy Train Ride
it should have been very easy.
I was dropped back at Vasteras station and then all I had to do was take a train to Hallsberg, where I would get a fast train to Oslo, where I would arrive around nine o’clock. The aim was to then spent a day in Oslo, coming home on the Wednesday to London by British Airways.
The first part of the journey was uneventful, except that to me it seemed that no-one had adjusted the heating system on the train I got to Hallsberg. But it was in time to get my connection to Oslo at 17:06.
Hallsberg was a station that was the mix of old and new and had a wide bridge over the tracks like Reading and other rebuilt stations in the UK.
Hallsberg Station
But the train that arrived to take me to Oslo had seen better days. But if I thought that was a bad train, we were then informed that we’d be changing to another train to continue our journey.
Changing Trains
The new train was one of the worst I’d travelled on in the last couple of years and I’ve even been on a Pacer that was in better condition. None of the toilets were working.
No Toilets Were Working
All of this game of musical trains was because there works on the lines and they had to get the passengers through on only one line.
Eventually, we got to Kongsvinger, where Swedish Railways had assured us the fast train to Oslo would have been held.
But it hadn’t been held, so about fifty of us gathered in the waiting room at about eleven. Luckily, I had details of my hotel in Oslo and was able to get them on the telephone to assure them I was on my way. But I know others weren’t so lucky, as they hadn’t any rooms to go to in Oslo. They’d just hoped they’d get there early enough to find one.
Customer service was non-existent and even the toilets needed a credit card. Luckily a forceful Swede knew how to fix them, so everybody could have a much-needed pee.
Eventually, a train arrived and although it was fairly new and very clean, it wasn’t the fastest, as it crawled its way to Oslo.
A Train Arrives
It was an enjoyable journey though, as the Swede was handing out beer to fellow passengers, who included a teacher from Devon and his German girlfriend. Just as we did on that memorable night in Venice, we enjoyed ourselves and put the world to rights.
I got into Oslo about midnight and wandered around for perhaps half-an-hour until I found a taxi to take me to my hotel.
It’s Only A Duvet
A couple of weeks ago, I was too hot in bed, as I only have the one duvet and it is rather an expensive one with a high tog rating of 13.5.
I’d originally bought it after C died, as we’d always used blankets and making the bed with these, by yourself is not easy.
So I thought, it was time to get one for the summer and trotted off to John Lewis. I explained to a salesman, what I wanted and he explained how blankets don’t wrap around you like a duvet does, which means you actually keep cooler. He said I needed a cheap synthetic duvet, which tended not to wrap around you.
So despite it being the cheapest in the department, I bought one.
I’ve certainly slept well over the last couple of weeks. It will be interesting to see, when I change back to the heavy one, especially as I have pretty good tolerance of the cold.
So that was certainly one down to the salesman at John Lewis. How many others would have sold me the thinnest expensive duvet they had?
Currys Just Take The Piss
I tried last week to unsubscribe from Currys as I reported here.
But guess what happened this afternoon!
They sent me more ruddy spam!
At times like this you reach for something to threaten them with! So I’ve just called my solicitor and given him carte blanche to make them squirm.
The Anonymous Widower 