Barry Salter wrote:
Poldie wrote:
I accept that many (most?) people will enter the tube system at their
recharge point, but surely my situation can't be unique?

The other option is to just renew your ticket in advance at an Oyster
Ticket Stop (which you can search for on the TfL website [1]) or
Underground Station. You don't *have* to renew on the day.

Thanks. But that would involve queing up once a week. If I was happy
with that, I could just queue for a paper ticket!

It looks like, if there's no recharge point at Paddington other than on
a ticket gate, that I'll be leaving a gate open once a week. It's what
I've been told to do on the phone and via email (when I ordered the
recharge):
-----

The products you ordered through Oyster online are now ready to be
uploaded onto your Oyster card as you walk through and touch your
Oyster card on any ticket gate at: Paddington station.

To validate the cash balance or Travelcards you ordered through Oyster
online to your Oyster card, simply touch your Oyster card on the yellow
reader as you enter your nominated Tube station, and watch for the
flashing green lights. This indicates that the validation has been
successful.