How Long did It Take You to Get Home Today?
Another fekkin' fire at London Bridge.
This is my journey back today - I was in Sheffield so my journey was unusually long:
Train from Sheffield at 16:27, no probs except that there were no lights which was disconcerting in tunnels
Got to St Pancras on time and checked at information - no trains through London Bridge. Trains had been diverted through Victoria but Victoria now closed because of congestion and/or a passenger incident [different versions of story]
Decided to take tube/DLR to Lewisham and pick up train from there
Got to Heron Quays and lift and escalator to platforms broken
Arrived on platform and "queue" about five people thick
Small number managed to squeeze onto first Lewisham train
Shuffled forward a bit and now about three people from front
Announced that one of the "units" [ie trains] had broken down in the tunnel under the river because it was overloaded
Nice DLR man with a high vis jacket advised a group of us trying to get to Sidcup/Bexley that our best bet was to get the next train to Coldharbour and walk to the Greenwich foot tunnel
Got train to Coldharbour which had plenty of room - even seats!!! - there was a reason for this
Got off at Coldharbour, took "a right" as directed and took a left into "the park"
Ended up in an Asda, that wasn't right so doubled back
Strange man started shouting and stuff so crossed road
Finally saw "a park" which I need to "walk through". Sign and map [hoorah] outside park showed that it was in fact a Very Large Park and Miles Away from Greenwich
Anyway, started walking through park trying to avoid the loonies
Got lost in middle at a crossroads and fortunately ran into the people who'd been on the platform at Heron Quays
Decided to "stick together" and take a left
Path turned into a cinder path -most of us wearing sandals
Then arrived at a dead end with a horse riding arena
Then one of the group used his GPS to work out the direction
Then there was a very steep slope
So those of us in sandals walked a long way round to avoid breaking our necks
Finally we got to the foot tunnel
The lifts had been switched off - this is a regular happening at 8pm
Climbed the 100 steps at the other end
Decided to walk to Greenwich to pick up a train to Dartford and cab back from there
All services suspended from Greenwich til tomorrow morning
Got DLR down to Lewisham, clearly unit had been mended while one was having one's Big Adventure in the "park"
Chaos at Lewisham
But there were Trains
Ran for a train to Bexleyheath and managed to get on front carriage
Train about to set off and another train announced for Sidcup
Bugger that, have got standing space
Got to Bexleyheath and cab home
OK. Top That.
This is my journey back today - I was in Sheffield so my journey was unusually long:
Train from Sheffield at 16:27, no probs except that there were no lights which was disconcerting in tunnels
Got to St Pancras on time and checked at information - no trains through London Bridge. Trains had been diverted through Victoria but Victoria now closed because of congestion and/or a passenger incident [different versions of story]
Decided to take tube/DLR to Lewisham and pick up train from there
Got to Heron Quays and lift and escalator to platforms broken
Arrived on platform and "queue" about five people thick
Small number managed to squeeze onto first Lewisham train
Shuffled forward a bit and now about three people from front
Announced that one of the "units" [ie trains] had broken down in the tunnel under the river because it was overloaded
Nice DLR man with a high vis jacket advised a group of us trying to get to Sidcup/Bexley that our best bet was to get the next train to Coldharbour and walk to the Greenwich foot tunnel
Got train to Coldharbour which had plenty of room - even seats!!! - there was a reason for this
Got off at Coldharbour, took "a right" as directed and took a left into "the park"
Ended up in an Asda, that wasn't right so doubled back
Strange man started shouting and stuff so crossed road
Finally saw "a park" which I need to "walk through". Sign and map [hoorah] outside park showed that it was in fact a Very Large Park and Miles Away from Greenwich
Anyway, started walking through park trying to avoid the loonies
Got lost in middle at a crossroads and fortunately ran into the people who'd been on the platform at Heron Quays
Decided to "stick together" and take a left
Path turned into a cinder path -most of us wearing sandals
Then arrived at a dead end with a horse riding arena
Then one of the group used his GPS to work out the direction
Then there was a very steep slope
So those of us in sandals walked a long way round to avoid breaking our necks
Finally we got to the foot tunnel
The lifts had been switched off - this is a regular happening at 8pm
Climbed the 100 steps at the other end
Decided to walk to Greenwich to pick up a train to Dartford and cab back from there
All services suspended from Greenwich til tomorrow morning
Got DLR down to Lewisham, clearly unit had been mended while one was having one's Big Adventure in the "park"
Chaos at Lewisham
But there were Trains
Ran for a train to Bexleyheath and managed to get on front carriage
Train about to set off and another train announced for Sidcup
Bugger that, have got standing space
Got to Bexleyheath and cab home
OK. Top That.