Last Thursday I decided to visit my mother for the day, as she had been sounding a little down when I spoke to her on the phone. Now I live in Chelmsford, Essex, about 15 miles from the sea on the eastern coast of England. She lives in one of the suburbs of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. Now, despite the distances involved it usually isn't a difficult journey by public transport - just straight to London, tube to Paddington Station and a two hour train journey straight to Cardiff Central station and then a taxi. I can do a day trip, therefore, without any difficulty. Usually.
I got to the station here and up to London Liverpool Street easily. A tube train arrived promptly and took me straight to Paddington Station where I got on the right train, which left on time. So far so good.
About half-way between Paddington and Reading, with fields all around the train stopped. The carriage next to mine was filled with smoke and all the passengers moved into our carriage, At the same time there were urgent announcements for all buffet staff to return to the buffet. Then we waited some more. Then the conductor announced to one and all that the problem was nothing to do with the buffet but because three brake boxes were dragging along the ground and they were trying to mend the problem. Later another announcement said that they were awaiting the arrival of a maintenance team to repair the problem. Still later and finally we were told that the problem had been solved and the train now met Health and Safety requirements and we could move again. So we set off to Cardiff which we reached over two hours later than planned.
The taxi got me to where my mother lives at 4.30. She gets a bit fussed easily nowadays and was upset about the delays I had experienced and whether I'd be stranded there (I wasn't, after over 30 years of commuting to London by train I had experienced far worse than this before). Obviously I couldn't spend as much time with her as I usually do or would have liked as I needed to get home the same day.
Anyway, I got back to Cardiff Central station to discover that London bound trains were running about 20 minutes late. The winds from the Arctic promised by our weather forecasters had arrived and it was a chilly wait. The train arrived and got to London, taking at least 30 minutes longer than anticipated. A quick tube to Liverpool Street. As I arrived at that station I heaved a sigh of relief at the thought I had only a 40 minute train journey to home. I thought too soon though. No trains were leaving the station at all due to overhead cable problems at Romford and a broken down goods train at Chelmsford. I had an hour wait before the first train left Liverpool Street station, and then it took longer than usual to get home. Then the queues for taxis were so long I phoned up the Husband and got him to drive across town to pick me up. I got home well after midnight, fortunately just before the snows fell that so disrupted Britain on Friday.
Than, to add insult to injury the following two days I had a nasty tummy upset that laid me low. Whether it is the bug currently going around Cardiff or the effects of the junk food I ate to get me through the day I do not know. Anyway, I am back to normal now.
Such days don't happen very often. Just one of those things but I am glad it's over.
2 comments:
WHat a dreadful trip! Most of my life has been spent driving where ever I needed to go, but when I was a teenager, I was sent off on the train to visit my aunt in Des Moines, a trip which I LOVED, and as an adult, I rode the train to Champaign, Illinois, where I was attending the University of Illinois. That trip was considerably less fun, but there were no delays, and I was met at the station for the ride home.
We have considerably less public transportation here than you do in the UK. I suppose I would have coped with the delays as you did, but we are not known for being gracious when inconvenienced! I'd have had to bite my tongue to keep quiet. *G*
I'm sorry to hear that you were under the weather for a couple of days following the trip, but it kept you indoors while the country dealt with that snow. Our first appreciable snow has come, and now we're in the throes of a cold snap. I really wish I had protected the Peace rose, because it's going to be well below freezing at night.
I'm glad you got to see your mother.
Buffy
Buffy,
Over the last 30 years or so of commuting to London I have done a huge amount of train travelling. I have also travelled to other places by train for both business and pleasure. Basically I love travelling by train. Normally.
It was, of course, just unfortunate that the train I was on broke down and caused such delays. It is the first time it has happened since I have been travelling to Cardiff to visit my mother. I don't intend to let this situation put me off going to Cardiff by train in future.
Speaking to my mother on the phone since the trip I have discovered that there has been a nasty virus with nausea and other digestive problems going around Cardiff. It looks as if I just got a mild version of it. It was soon over, thank goodness.
Isn't the Peace Rose fully hardy? It is over here, anyway. Is the winter much colder where you are?
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