London Banter - Me in London today

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Me in London today

For those who care, here's what happened to me today.

I had a meeting at the Angel (the big BT building there). Got to King's
Cross about 08:30 - all normal - and went to get a cup of coffee and sit
and work for an hour or so. At about 09:35 I got up and discovered a
large number of people were milling around the area.

One of the patrons said she'd heard there'd been an explosion at
Liverpool Street. Another said that when her train arrived at KX the
driver said he'd been told not to open the doors (no, I'm not clear how
she got out).

From the situation around the mainline station it was clear there
weren't going to be any buses coming along the Euston Road. So I started
walking up the hill towards Angel. Buses were queuing back past the fork
with Grays Inn Road (?).

About 09:45 I heard a loud bang in the distance. I thought it was
south-east (that is, towards Holborn) but I guess it was the Tavistock
Square bus. When I got to Angel and met up with others, the reports were
of a "power surge". The other attendees each had their own - confused -
stories of what had happened.

During the meeting reports dribbled in. We decided that, since all
transport was snarled up, we might as well finish our meeting and then
work out how to get home. Meeting ran until about 2pm, at which point it
was reported that WAGN were running from Finsbury Park and GNER from
Peterborough. So three of us (me, someone from Leeds, and someone from
Hull) decided to head for Finsbury Park.

14:15 - the streets around Angel look much the same as I'm used to.
There are some buses running but, typically, not going the way we want.
Somewhere along Upper Street we managed to grab a taxi. It took him
about 30 minutes, but he dropped us at Finsbury Park station. Small
crowd outside. A person with a "Customer Service Manager" or something
like that, on being asked "Peterborough", said "we've got a train
waiting for you on platform 2". But when we went to the doorway we were
told to catch the all-stops to Welwyn Garden City and change there for
an all-stops to Peterborough. The train (2x313) left at 15:30, full and
standing. Enough people got off by New Southgate that there were plenty
of seats from there on. I noticed a heavy police presence at New Barnet,
but I'm told there were policemen on the platform at every station
before then. Can't say I noticed any at Hadley Wood or any subsequent
station until St.Neots.

Arrived WGC at 16:05. There were 2x365 in the other platform, and it was
announced for Peterborough. Decided to sit in first class - I doubt
they're going to make a fuss today. Train is busy but no worse than
normal. Just as we were about to leave another 2x365 pulled into
platform 1. Presumably that will be the Cambridge service - it might
have been a chance for some rare track, but I'd rather get home, really.

Arrived Huntingdon 16:55 after an eventless run. Get to car, drive home.

--
Clive D.W. Feather | Home:
Tel: +44 20 8495 6138 (work) | Web: http://www.davros.org
Fax: +44 870 051 9937 | Work:
Please reply to the Reply-To address, which is:

Me in London today

Clive D. W. Feather wrote to uk.transport.london on Thu, 7 Jul 2005:

For those who care, here's what happened to me today.

Glad you're okay, anyway!
--
"Mrs Redboots"
http://www.amsmyth.demon.co.uk/
Website updated 23 May 2005

Me in London today

Clive D. W. Feather wrote:

Arrived Huntingdon 16:55 after an eventless run. Get to car, drive home.

You were quite lucky. I was one of the many who had to walk the entire
way
home thanks to the bus drivers seeming to think that the zone 1 ban
extended as
far as finchley. Cheers guys, what heroes you are. Hope you had a nice
time
sitting at home watching the news while myself and 10s of thousands of
others
had to walk the entire way home. Still , at least now I know I can do
the 8 miles
back to my flat from central london on foot in 3.5 hours.

B2003

Me in London today

So there was an upside then

Boltar wrote:

Clive D. W. Feather wrote:

Arrived Huntingdon 16:55 after an eventless run. Get to car, drive home.

You were quite lucky. I was one of the many who had to walk the entire
way
home thanks to the bus drivers seeming to think that the zone 1 ban
extended as
far as finchley. Cheers guys, what heroes you are. Hope you had a nice
time
sitting at home watching the news while myself and 10s of thousands of
others
had to walk the entire way home. Still , at least now I know I can do
the 8 miles
back to my flat from central london on foot in 3.5 hours.

B2003

Me in London today

Boltar wrote:
Clive D. W. Feather wrote:

Arrived Huntingdon 16:55 after an eventless run. Get to car, drive
home.

You were quite lucky. I was one of the many who had to walk the entire
way
home thanks to the bus drivers seeming to think that the zone 1 ban
extended as
far as finchley. Cheers guys, what heroes you are. Hope you had a nice
time
sitting at home watching the news while myself and 10s of thousands of
others
had to walk the entire way home. Still , at least now I know I can do
the 8 miles
back to my flat from central london on foot in 3.5 hours.

Sounds of a plaintive melody emanate from violins and waft gently as on a
summer's breeze across a London strewn with bombed out buses and trains
littered all around with dismembered corpses.

Me in London today

Boltar wrote to uk.transport.london on Thu, 7 Jul 2005:

Clive D. W. Feather wrote:

Arrived Huntingdon 16:55 after an eventless run. Get to car, drive home.

You were quite lucky. I was one of the many who had to walk the entire
way
home thanks to the bus drivers seeming to think that the zone 1 ban
extended as
far as finchley. Cheers guys, what heroes you are. Hope you had a nice
time
sitting at home watching the news while myself and 10s of thousands of
others
had to walk the entire way home. Still , at least now I know I can do
the 8 miles
back to my flat from central london on foot in 3.5 hours.

At least you *got* home - think of those who will never go home again.
--
"Mrs Redboots"
http://www.amsmyth.demon.co.uk/
Website updated 23 May 2005

Me in London today

Upon the miasma of midnight, a darkling spirit identified as Mrs
Redboots gently breathed:
Clive D. W. Feather wrote to uk.transport.london on Thu, 7 Jul 2005:

For those who care, here's what happened to me today.

Glad you're okay, anyway!

Seconded.

--
- Pyromancer Stormshadow.
http://www.inkubus-sukkubus.co.uk -- Pagan Gothic Rock!
http://www.littlematchgirl.co.uk -- Electronic Metal!
http://www.revival.stormshadow.com -- The Gothic Revival.

Me in London today

In article ,
Pyromancer wrote:
Upon the miasma of midnight, a darkling spirit identified as Mrs
Redboots gently breathed:
Clive D. W. Feather wrote to uk.transport.london on Thu, 7 Jul 2005:

For those who care, here's what happened to me today.

Glad you're okay, anyway!

Seconded.

Thirded.

--
Andy Breen ~ Interplanetary Scintillation Research Group
http://users.aber.ac.uk/azb/
Feng Shui: an ancient oriental art for extracting
money from the gullible (Martin Sinclair)

Me in London today

Boltar wrote:

Clive D. W. Feather wrote:

Arrived Huntingdon 16:55 after an eventless run. Get to car, drive home.

You were quite lucky. I was one of the many who had to walk the entire
way
home thanks to the bus drivers seeming to think that the zone 1 ban
extended as
far as finchley. Cheers guys, what heroes you are. Hope you had a nice
time
sitting at home watching the news while myself and 10s of thousands of
others
had to walk the entire way home. Still , at least now I know I can do
the 8 miles
back to my flat from central london on foot in 3.5 hours.

They just don't like you I think. Bus services from Angel/Highbury
outwards were doing an amazing job.

Me in London today