The idea of running about all over the country via the bus pass has led to an unfortunate situation. My knees ache! Sadly I did too much too soon and have spent this week lying about the house, not unusual that, awaiting my body recovering. Naturally the sun has been shining all this time, buses pass my house indicating the place to put the bus ass and running off into places far away.
I remain indoors.
This morning I ventured out to Tesco as the food stocks were somewhat low. I considered using this as a chance to diet but failed to make the most of that and by 8 am I was shopping. My diet has been blown again and must be restarted today. The stomach sticking out makes it difficult to see the keyboard on this laptop which hinders me somewhat.
This also means exercising again as that lowers the bump apparently though I have yet to see a difference. That is one thing that saves me money however, I save £50 by not buying a Heart of Midlothian football strip because it looks daft with a big bump at the front. Many do buy these and waddle around but this does not present a decent sight in my view, or indeed anyone else's.
Clouds tomorrow, I will probably be fit enough to go out...
I sometimes sit here amazed at my stupidity and ability to misunderstand facts, however having listened to parts of Donald Trumps 4th of July speech, in heavy rain, I feel considerably better about things. He waxed lyrical about the war of independence (in 1775 was it?) pointing out how Washington's army defeated the British forces including "Taking over the airports," as they did so. Now this is a slip of the tongue surely and we all make such mistakes, although not as a President of the United States desperately trying to remember the words he has been rehearsing all morning.
I note he also forgot to thanks the French for their part in the independence struggle, the ships blocking the harbour, the men on the ground replacing the home forces who had deserted, the vast amount of cash given to the new US government, so much cash some say it led to the French revolution, and yet none of this was mentioned, just the airports...
Of course in recent days Theresa May, Jeremy Hunt and Boris the oaf have all revealed a similar lack of historical knowledge of their own country, this when parading themselves in Scotland! The members of the Scottish National Party are well pleased with the results there.
The Tory infighting, like the Labour infighting and the almost completely ignored Lib-Dem infighting continues apace. We all wish it would stop!
The advantage of sitting at home is that I do not get caught up in transport difficulties. My real sympathies go out to the early commuters who fled London early to begin their weekend and are now facing a bus trip home. Damage to the overhead wires on the lunchtime service has blocked the line which means from Witham buses must be used to get people home.
The weather is hot, the people tired, drinks running out, buses slow as it is rush hour, and the happy citizen concentration on his mobile phone or his crossword in the free paper will be considering some of the words he has heard from his boss concerning the failure of his work. He will be reusing them tonight. I once got the commuter special, never again! Either in morning or evening the experience is not good. Crowded, impatient, and tedious when things go wrong. Train journeys are great when quiet...
You will be delighted to know there are no more pictures of water. Instead, with the temperature now lowered in this grubby room to a mere 79% from a height on Saturday night of 85, I consider the railways on which I travelled.
Running a railway has always featured one major problem, disruption! That disruption might come from heat bending the rails as it did recently, points not working properly, signals failing, copper wire being stolen, doors jamming or some such technical problem, let alone the sole passenger taken seriously ill or the one jumping in front of the train, all these hinder the smooth running of the railways.
Last Monday as I arrived I noted the people gathered around the station, something was up. Far away near Clacton the points had failed leading to an upset railway. The trains could not get through, they thus blocked the main line hindering all services. Too alleviate this the 9am from our station was turned around six miles away and left our people fuming in the heat awaiting the train at ten, my train. As I bought my ticket from the stressed sole representative of the railway all around me people gnashed teeth and muttered under their breath. I smiled and stood back...
My journey was smooth enough, the carriage was not busy even by Stratford where I changed. This marvellous new complex offered me the chance to spare my knees by using the lift, this I did and found myself totally lost! I used the wrong lift! The one I wanted was further down but nobody told me so I ended up wandering around, up stairs and down with no lift, until I eventually found my place here at the underground. Sensible people would have checked where they were going and followed the signs before they came out!
This Jubilee Line is very busy but I planted myself near the front of the coach and with the window open it was not too bad. The train is fast but the variety of passengers is amazing. Many were passing through from one station to another, tourists transported fat cases full of her clothes, other tourists were set on sightseeing and paying for it also, locals, surly and ignoring the world around them, put their heads into the technology and lived apart.
Checking the timetable I raced slowly for the train, it beat me. Two or three of us were halfway up the platform when the first five coaches moved off, as did the rail operative...
This was good as thirty minutes later, on the same platform, I took the remaining five coaches and found a decent seat. Here I also found a guard who done her job well and with a slight degree of humour. I asked when we would arrive and she said "Not soon enough" and giggled. She had just had a run in with man carrying the wrong ticket and demanded £140 from him for the real fare. This had not gone down well. We shared a few joke comments along with another passenger and the women selling coffee, she could not get the trolley to move, and settled down to half read my book and watch the greenery, where crops were actually green, pass by. The hot weather has ruined many crops and while some can be gathered the size is much reduced. Prices will rise.
Coming back I cleverly let the fast train depart and waited ten minutes for the slow train. This ensured a seat, even though it contained only four coaches and not five, and a relaxed atmosphere was around me. Not everyone felt this, not the woman who had not paid and was forced to pay full price by the guard. He however was good to me informing me of faster trains when he saw the details of my long journey. I preferred the seat without crowds rather than speed and he understood. However by journeys end I was changing my mind.
Some railways are doing away with guards, now often called 'conductors.' This I see as a foolish idea as many questions are asked on a train and the sight of a guard eases some peoples apprehension re travel. It is funny how folks are more likely to converse on long distance travel, possibly because of nerves, than in local travel. Maybe the excitement of the change brings this on. Personally while I am happy to be pleasant (yes I am) I prefer folks to shut it and look out the window and enjoy the sights which are many. The place of the guard however remains important on any train as he represents the company, gives reassurance, collects fares from dodgers, answers questions ("No idea love") and is a requirement railways cannot do without. Yet to save money some wish to drop them.
In between trains!
A sweltering day and a constant flow of hundreds of passengers is it any surprise to see staff exhausted in such circumstances. he has just answered the thousandth stupid question of the day and awaits a thousand more before rushing home, can you blame him...?
The Jubilee Line takes no chances with folks falling in front of the trains underground. These panels open only when the train stops and always at the doors, so far, and facilitate passenger movement. I must cease from using 'passenger' as they are all 'customers' in today's rail world. What nonsense!
With the ever present danger of hold ups late in the afternoon I jumped on the first train at platform ten, once I had gone the wrong way in the wrong lift for the second time, this one being a four coach vehicle for Ipswich. This appears wrong to me as there were five coaches of people aboard and standing was the only option, no guard appeared unsurprisingly. Surely such trains require five or six coaches? Later I discovered a train for Norwich was cancelled, all this because someone along the line had gone in front of a train! Deliberately or what? Who knows and I never found out. This is at once tragic and annoying, for a variety of reasons people kill themselves but why do it on the railways? Someone has to clean up the mess, pick up the bits, reassure the driver it was not his fault, why put others out while you are depressed or worried? Trains could be held up for over an hour as I was two years ago when someone done that on the southern part of the route. Is it cruel to say 'Kill yourself at home?
I had time to ponder this, but not set up this picture properly, while waiting for the connection. Also cogitating on what was being transported in the long trains that come from Felixstowe docks where containers full mostly of Chinese tat race past. Longer trains return the other way charging through at 90 miles and hour leaving a slipstream upsetting for girls in summer frocks. Brexit will however end all this. Long lines of lorries at Dover unable to cross without proper paperwork alongside container ports stuffed with goods we cannot get to Europe because Boris wishes to be Prime Minister. A disaster waiting to happen and they continue with this farce in spite of it all. Today's news of David Davies resigning is good, but will things change?
While waiting in cold wet weather can be irritating the chance to ponder and watch life go by in a rail station is quite enjoyable I say, the more so if it is a busy station. Not only can you 'people watch' as some enjoy but a selection of trains from various regions passing through I find interesting, yet I am not an anorak! Some I note know everything about every train, two such on the trip home got off at Eastleigh as they were train hunting there in the big depot, but I just like watching them. This is like having your own toy train set yet on a large table.
I got home tired and weary, I ought to have stuffed my face while in Waterloo's rip-off shopping precinct, but instead I relied on my watered down now warm water bottle. This was insufficient I say now.
Today I sit here planning my next rain journey, Studying the timetable and looking for inspiration, and the cash to pay for it, long live the senior rail card!
