Yes, the pun has been done before, but it's been one of those days. I should be in Edinburgh right now, but I'm not. Got up early, feeling groggy, and set of to Bristol to collect an Authority to Travel which Virgin Trains had faxed to the station in lieu of the undelivered tickets. Queued among throngs of Cheltenham Festival bound racegoers. Finally got letter - details were for the wrong train - a problem I thought I'd sorted out with Customer Services yesterday.
Called them and queued again - no fax arrived. 0928 service came and went. Customer Services advised checking with the Train Manager and the travelling on the 0958. Staff at the ticket gate detained me querying the authority for the 0652 train. Missed another one.
Tried one last train, Virgin's operations team having ensured I would be able to get through the gate this time. It was solidly wedged, reserved passengers only due to demand for services to Cheltenham races. Likely there would be no services which weren't almost dangerously overloaded until after lunch. I'd be arriving in Edinburgh at about 2000 if I travelled via a change at Birmingham. At this point the Operations Manager from Virgin called. Told him I quit and agreed to write to him about the experience. Travelled back to Weston feeling pretty exhausted and demoralised by a very frustrating morning.
Wandered into the office to fax letter to Virgin. Chatted for a bit. Shopped and came home. Did nothing for the rest of the day. An utter waste of holiday.
Daylog Entry for Sunday 17/03/2002 24 years ago
Posted in Updates on Sunday 17th March 2002 at 12:00am
A week of eating GNOME2 dogfood has gone relatively well. Its been a quiet and somewhat dull weekend. Read and listened to the radio a lot, and ate and drank far too much food. Paid a visit to a friend I visit far too little, and heard tales of bygone days which were fascinating. Hacked pointlessly on the little script which analyses bandwidth usage on this site. It now has features beyond its needs. Brief visit to Burnham. The week of my leaving party approaches - oddly unconcerned.
Daylog Entry for Saturday 17/03/2001 25 years ago
Posted in Updates on Saturday 17th March 2001 at 12:00am
Had a really good sleep after previous night's deprivation. Occupational Health report arrives, and is pretty much as expected. Got tiles for chessboard project - need to measure up and find wood now. Much hacking on gwvedit this afternoon. Went to Bristol to see comedy which was cancelled, moved elsewhere and eventually sold out! Ended up at the Fleece and Firkin, watching The Soul Destroyers who were entertaining - especially the massive brass section!
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.
