ALL NEW Competition Thread...Last Post WINS ;-)

[naughty.tortie]

Well..... it couldnt be lost forever could it !

So its back... all singing, all dancing... no farting allowed...

May the dirtiest player win 😄




I am first... I WILL BE LAST

[peteryola]

Oh... ouch... yes... that is a bit problematic...

Changing the subject, I've just been watching a full blown auroral display...

[cke786]

Sadly I have not, there's been nothing of it here, very disappointed 😭

[peteryola]

You weren't looking in the usual direrction of low down in the north were you?

That would normally be the correct way to look in the south of the UK, but this lot was right overhead and even slightly to the south of me in Epsom; I'm told by the British Astronomical Association that they were visible from Spain...

[cke786]

I went outside and looked in all directions to see if I could see any of it....... nothing! Even my SLR was unable to show anything 😭

On another subject, I'll be travelling down to London again on the last Sunday of this month, I'm going to the MCM Comic Con for the first time... and probably the last... as there is a guest coming that I couldn't pass up the opportunity to go and  say "hi" to in person. So, more train travel planning required!

[peteryola]

Is that the bank holiday weekend?  You'll need to check carefully for any engineering works and be prepared to be a bit creative with your choice of route if there is anything between you and London that day.

Are you doing this as a day trip or staying over the Saturday and Sunday nights in London?

[cke786]

It'll be a day trip, but I only need to arrive by 12pm, so I'll be getting early trains down and late trains back, similar to what I did last time, going over to Crewe, then getting the train down to London from there, considering it's significantly cheaper for some reason! That said, it's a different station I'll be getting off at, Custome House Railway Station, so I'm not sure on the route planning!

[peteryola]

The lower fares from Crewe will be the London Northwestern Railway only ones - the journey time isn''t much longer than with Avanti, and the LNR trains are more comfortable and have bigger windows anyway. 🙂

Custom House on the DLR...  Arriving from euston you'll want the Northern Line to Bank then the DLR from there.   You'll need a train going to Beckton; if there isn't a direct service then changing at the first stop ( Shadwell ) should provide one.

The TfL website isn't showing any engineering works that weekend.

[cke786]

I'll get my tickets sorted out tonight, I need to arrive at least an hour or two before the event begins at 12noon, hopefully it can be organised.

[peteryola]

Ummm.... I've just had a look and it seems the only Crewe to Eustons on Sunday are Avanti ones... so hopefully your cheaper tickets are valid on those...

I'd certainly advise paying for an "any permitted" ticket rather than an Advance in case you need to be flexible with your arrangments on the day.

[cke786]

Well, after looking at the tickets on the day, Manchester Piccadilly-Crewe-London Euston costs about the same as Manchester Piccadilly-London Euston, plus even if I did get tickets for Man'P-Crewe-London'E, they wouldn't match up the departure times, the train from Man'P-Crewe I'd end up missing the connection to London'E by about 20min, the next train I'd arrive an hour or so later than the venue opening time and I'd need to arrive at least an hour early to queue up to get in 😭

I could go down on the Saturday, but the train fare is more, plus I'd need a cheap place to stay for the night, adding more costs! Bit of a fuster cluck really 😅

[peteryola]

I guess you'll be going direct after all, then...?

[cke786]

Yep and if all goes well, I'll arrive as the doors of the venue open to us common folk!

[peteryola]

You'll have to report back on Monday as to whether or not the plan worked out...

[cke786]

Well, things went 'mostly' to plan... I arrived at Man'Piccadilly railway station about 50min early, despite much of the way there being closed for the 10K run, but just before 8am, the train at 8:20am I was supposed to be on to London got cancelled, thankfully they told us to get on the 8:05am train instead, so set off a little earlier than scheduled! Thing is, about 10min after the train set off, I received a notification on the Trainline app that the 8:20am had been reinstated... the muppets!

Journey down wasn't too bad, just a few hours on Avanti's uncomfortable carriage seats, but the biggest problem was the London underground, virtually no clear signage as to which platform to go to, so spent a lot longer trying to get one of the attendants to ask where to go, so missed the early tube train that I could have got to arrive at the venue before the doors opened! Journey back was much the same issues!

All said, the day went well, I achieved all my goals, didn't spend too much thankfully), the burger I had there was delicious, though next time I'll bring one of those folding festival stools.... my feet are still killing me! 😆

[peteryola]

That short notice reinstatement of the 08.20 probably means they found a relief driver who was available; you definitely did the right thing getting on the move when you did, though.

Surprised you had that trouble on the Underground, though - the signs are quite clear at the bottom of the main escalator down ( which leads to all three routes ); I'm guessing it was rather busy and people were stood in front of the signs at the first level down so you didn't see them?

[cke786]

I would have been one of those folks in the way then, but no, the first issue was, where was the tube I needed to go to, then when I got there, the tube map that actually showed me which platform to go to, was on the other side of the wall out of view lol, though I made sure I was going in the right direction by asking. After that, a little confusion on to which train to get on, there was one when I got there, but I couldn't see if it was the right one as it was about to as it was about to set off... it was, so I had to wait for the next one, about 15min wait. All these little uncertainties and delays accumilated, leading me to arrive later than I would have liked, thanfully I had enough time there!

The problem getting back was which way in the ExCel to go to in order to get to Custom House Railway Station... I went the wrong way, though this was definitely from the lack of directions in the centre, coupled with the ushering to empty the place!

[peteryola]

Well, darn...  next time you need to go through Euston, ask me to describe to you exactly which way you need to go to get the right train...  but be prepared to print it off to refer to on the day!

[cke786]

As the saying goes "Euston, we have a problem!" besides, it'll be a while before I go on another excursion down to London, £120 there and back is quite an investment just for a day visit!

Anyway, more issues to deal with up here, I may be on the cusp of getting canned, if eBay and our website sales don't pick up! I'm getting my hours cut on Wednesday down from 5:30pm to 1:30pm, a loss of 4hrs of pay.... won't be able to visit that far away disused railway station now 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[peteryola]

Eek!!!  That's not good...

[cke786]

The bright side is, I get an extra afternoon free, but still would prefer to keep my normal hours! More cash!