Today I was to travel to Watford by train. My cushy first class pre-booked tickets were carefully timed to get me there just in time to speak for an hour at a conference then step back in the waiting taxi and go back for the train home. Easy day.. until it snowed.
At seven thirty I started the media search. Virgin rail's web site said that there was a'revised timetable' but failed to provide it. The link to National Rail did not work. Typing in the website for National Rail led to a crashed website. I tried Ceefax on TV. Virgin rail are running a revised service. Check their website. I tried again. Same same.
I rang. Their recorded message told me that it was snowing so they were busy and I should ring back, then cut me off. I listened to the radio. It told me there was a revised service and I should check the website. I did. Still nothing. I rang again and got cut off.
I sent a text to the conference organiser who was already at the hotel in Watford.
He rang back and said, "I'm looking out of the window and its all white. Don't come."
So I didn't.
At lunch time Dennis came up to the study, where I was busy being very grateful for a spare day to catch up on a pile of lecture notes that needed writing, to tell me that Virgin Rail were on the TV news. Their press statement was that I should travel tomorrow instead.
Is it just me?
1 comment:
Here where I live everything grinds to a halt if snow is even forecast. The weather forecasters break into regular programming with breathless updates showing the impending storms and people rush out to the grocery stores and buy every last loaf of bread and carton of milk. All for an inch or less of snow. At least you got a day to catch up on work!
Post a Comment