Just back from a hectic few days in London. I had a couple of rather remarkable things happen, one of which wasn't that I thought the workshop I went to was all that great.
Wembley proved the absolute nightmare to get to that I thought it would, and on top of that it was sunny and very, very hot, so spending all day inside for two days apart from lunch time seemed a bit of a waste. But at least when I did get out summer had descended and all was right with the world... which I gather was a whole lot better than it was in the Scottish Borders, where storm clouds had gathered and autumn/winter was back with a vengeance.
Saturday travelling wasn't quite so bad as Sunday. There were lots of buses and trains, but come Sunday I started out by trying to get a bus from Marble Arch to Marylebone Station. I waited and waited for a bus to come - and no, 3 didn't come along at once, at least not while I was there. In fact none came along in 20 minutes of waiting so I opted for a cab as there was just the one train from Marylebone to Wembley that would get me there on time for the start. I found myself with a lovely lady cab driver and we chatted away and when we got to the station she undercharged me. And she meant to do so. It was still on the expensive side as only London cabs are, but I don't think I've ever been asked not to pay the full fare before.
I decided to leave the workshop in the afternoon tea break as, apart from not enjoying myself that much and having to get to Waterloo for a meet up with the OU London crew for 7 (the workshop officially finished at 6), I knew the trains would be awful on the way back. And I was spot on there. Just one train every 1hour 20mins. They'd cancelled all the rest in their wisdom. So I had to wait almost an hour for a train, but at least I got back to my mother's with enough time to change my shoes and head to Waterloo.
Ok... so next... I got on a tube at Green Park for the two stops to Waterloo. The tube was unbelievably crowded. Apparently they were only running a train every 15-20 minutes, so when I got on it was standing room only. Then the most amazing thing happened... a guy offered me his seat! I can't remember when, if ever, that's happened before. I declined as it was only 2 stops, but as I got off I tweeted that it had happened, and the next thing I know is that RealLondonTube have become my follower on Twitter. How bizarre is that? Does this mean that someone sits and goes through every tweet there is looking for a mention of London tube and then clicks the follow button? Sadly I think the answer is yes... what a strange world we live in.
I had a lovely meet up with my OU friends. And in spite of the fact that I spent the evening alcohol free, it was a lot of fun and a really enjoyable evening.
And now? Well I'm back home in the depths of windy, rainy Scotland. Good to be home, but I'm missing the heat already.
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