The most important thing today was getting up on time! After last week's unnerving catastrophe I was concerned only to be at the station in good time. Having had a fairly weird end to my week with an all-nighter watching Election results trickle in followed by a very strange day trying to rationalise the inconclusive result with colleagues, I was feeling disconnected and jaded. The alarm clock, however, functioned as planned and I made the customary move to Weston-super-Mare on the first train, in order to get 1A06 direct to Paddington. No buffet at first, and despite collecting a member of staff the service didn't begin until well after Bath Spa. Apparently there was some issue with a member of staff working the empty stock down to Weston, which seems odd as we've often found the buffet open and ready for service before departure. Decided to just add this to the whole sense that the world had become confusing lately, and ruminated on the situation over one of FGW's much improved bacon rolls. Things soon felt better.
The next issue was just what to do with the day. As the preview service on the East London Line had yet to extend to weekends (although this was still, apparently, imminent) the original aspiration of doing an all-currently-open-track tour of the new line was scuppered. Still, decided to start with a South London Line service via Crystal Palace to have a look at New Cross Gate. Arrived to find 378's manoeuvring from depot to down platform and back, with some passing through to shadow the route out to Crystal Palace. Spent a little while here before heading in to London Bridge for coffee and some veg-like platform-ending. I don't do this very often, but with London Bridge being fairly friendly to enthusiasts (or at least, completely uninterested in their activities provided they're not leaping on the juice rail!) it was pleasant to hang around, dodge the showers of rain and view the intensive service here.
Next it was in to Cannon Street - cold, dark and empty on a weekend morning. The entire station seems to have disappeared behind blue boards to facilitate rebuilding, and the sparse facilities available to passengers have completely gone. A colleague needed some of the North Kent Lines, so formed a plan to wander out to Charlton, and spent the gap before the next train viewing London Stone and resurrecting my tour guide career. The train out to Charlton were not producing 376's which I'd have preferred, but were quiet and provided an interesting journey into the suburbs. Misjudged a move back to Lewisham and then to Barnehurst where the service terminated rather than trundling around the curve to form a return working. My knowledge of the timetable here is pretty sparse, especially since much of it was recast in connection with the advent of High Speed services. Decided to head north for more required track for my companion on this trip, but did so via a tried and tested move to East Croydon, then onto one of their cross-London services via Balham, Clapham, the West London line and onto the WCML. This provided a fly-past of Willesden and Wembley, before a brief pause at Harrow and Wealdstone. The newsagent here was trying to report a minor crime at the same time as serving customers which provided quite a spectacle as he switched between barking shrilly at the Police switchboard and quietly intoning "that's 45 pence please sir". Not sorry to get the 350 back into Euston and make the short walk to Kings Cross.
The object here was to pick up a service from the Suburban platforms, which we did in the form of a 365 to Finsbury Park for a 313 onwards to Alexandra Palace. Short leaps, but a chance to wander - and perhaps the only reasonable opportunity to get the camera out all day. Spent a little time here providing a tutorial on shutter speeds and fast-moving objects. A little of the blind leading the blind perhaps, but an interesting interlude. Back to The Cross, for a 205 bus move to Paddington and a welcome pint, having covered a fair bit of ground and had a varied and interesting day wandering about the Capital.
Today didn't really work out as planned, but having made the best of it, I think it turned out to be far better than it promised. This provides an interesting analogy with the emerging political situation which seems to have dogged the weekend. There is a sense that we should just "get on with it and see what happens". If it's as diverting as the day I spent wandering today, then perhaps it's a sensible way to approach things and it'll all be fine...
Perhaps...
Lost::MikeGTN
I've had a home on the web for more years than I care to remember, and a few kind souls persuade me it's worth persisting with keeping it updated. This current incarnation of the site is centred around the blog posts which began back in 1999 as 'the daylog' and continued through my travels and tribulations during the following years.
I don't get out and about nearly as much these days, but I do try to record significant events and trips for posterity. You may also have arrived here by following the trail to my former music blog Songs Heard On Fast Trains. That content is preserved here too.
