Feet on seats!!!

After a long hard day at work, I turn to see this, I had to take a picture of this as I was that incensed!

Aaaaggghhh what is wrong with these people.  Why on earth would you put your dirty shoes on seats meant for sitting?  I have to sit on them, in fact, you completely selfish ignorant commuter - it will be more than likely that you have to sit on them again.    I seriously hope that one day you end up sitting in some foul matter one day, and maybe you'll realise how gross it is to sit on crap from someone else's shoe.

This guy has to be at least 35 years old - you'd have thought he'd have some respect.

Can someone please enlighten me as to why you would this?  I mean, maybe it's me, perhaps I am being pedantic...but would you want to sit on what's on his shoe?  I'm not even getting onto the rant that he is monopolising seats!!

Get ahead of The Games!!!

I keep seeing these ‘funny’ adverts for transport suggestions during the Olympics…like suggesting that I should cycle instead of taking the tube because of all the amount of people using public transport, and then to rub salt to my pre-Olympic-Commuter-wounds, I see pictures of escalators rammed with people dressed up as birds. 

(See right, equestrian on escalator, and below, a nice poster telling me to walk part of my 90 minute commute)

 

It doesn’t make me laugh in the slightest (well, perhaps me pretending to be an athlete as per left hand pic is admittedly laughable) it just reminds me what a nightmare travelling in London for the Olympics really is going to be like.  In fairness, yes if I was your standard tourist, or London visitor, I would find these ‘light-hearted’ cartoons rather comical, but really, I think the pictures should be a bit like 'commuter squashed against tube door, underground stations closed, bus queues, frustrated city slickers and me moaning.

I unfortunately work at Bond St, so I am going to be hit hard by the Central Line and Jubilee.  I get off at Stratford in the mornings, and my train stops at Stratford in the evenings.  There is no way on earth I am going to miss this delightful event.   I am just hoping that as the trauma of Olympic travelling sets in, that I start to appreciate this PR/Marketing campaign in order to cheer me up.

We cannot actually predict what it is going to be like, around an extra 2m people will be in London over the Olympics, so this will really be a test for London transport's infrastructure, and a real test on the average commuter’s nerves!  I always like to know what people think is going to happen...so any opinions welcome below...

Please do prepare yourselves for some good old fashioned commuter rants, I reckon I could potentially win a Gold medal for it!

Now I am not one to moan...

But come on!!!

I have just received this email from Greater Anglia, now I am all for greater communication, but can someone explain to me this please...

We intend to run a full service this afternoon/evening.

We currently have some heat related speed restrictions in place at certain locations throughout the Greater Anglia network. We are not anticipating disruption to services, however minor delays are possible.

We apologise if your journey is disrupted.

There is currently a good service operating out of London on all routes at present.

http://www.railway-technology.com/features/featuretension-and-strain-on-overheated-trains/featuretension-and-strain-on-overheated-trains-1.html

What is a heat related restriction?? And why, in all of my years of commuting have I never heard of this?

Anyone care to explain?  All I want to do is go home, sit in the sun with a glass of wine, and I am already dreading my journey back, knowing full well I will be delayed because apparently it's too hot for the train to go at normal speed...it's not that hot! 

Summer Tube Treats

So first day of British summertime - some might have a BBQ, a cool shandy, or an ice cream.  I had the delights of sitting on a tube with Mr. 'I have sweaty testicles' shaking and adjusting in front of my face.  Bless him, it can't be pleasant to be a guy sometimes.

Yes, if you are unfortunate enough to get the underground you do not have the delights of air con like the delightful new overground trains - we have to make do with some vents. I had genuinely forgotten how hot it gets on these things.   I managed to survive the journey (mainly watching said man's crotch finding it mildly entertaining).  I arrived at Liverpool Street to find an 18.12  that didn't arrive so we had a sardine job on the 18.18,  I'm not technically moaning yet, I'm just elated that it's over 10 degrees finally!!

So, I'll let you have a view of my view - things could have been worse (mental images of some gross sweaty people).  Anyone have some heat wave horror stories? 

Enjoy...

Happy Summertime everyone!

An average commuter week

A short week summary :

·        I had to drive to Colchester on Friday night to pick up a boozed up over sleeping boyfriend ;-)

·        I had a rather pleasant Saturday journey to London, however, I was delayed with no explanation on the way home on the 23.18 as per, with some annoying woman talking to her friend with a baguette in her mouth...gag (me, not her)

·        I was off sick Monday and Tuesday so I missed the delays caused by the rain on Tuesday - remember to delay and repay!

·       Small oldish lady who I let sit down on the tube on Thursday afternoon, I immediately regretted it as actually you weren't that old, and probably hadn't been at work as long as I had.

·        Other young lady who pulled faces like you were in pain, but actually just wanted to sit down, there are rules - it was my half of the tube bit, I should have sat there, not you.

·        If you saw a girl fall down the steps at Chelmsford train station on Thursday evening after getting off the train, yes that was me, no it didn't hurt, but yes I was extremely embarrassed.

Have a nice long weekend!!

Rain rain go away...

For many of us, the journey alone to the train station can be just as traumatic as getting on a train and experiencing some bad luck…

Yesterday, I awoke to torrential rain, and I have a 25 minute walk to the train station in the morning.  So off I set, I have knee high boots on, rain mac, hood, I am ready for rain action.  My umbrella is not, it’s not waterproof, and it breaks, I paid £15 for that TOTES umbrella – it was awful, note for you all, don’t buy the brand TOTES, it’s rubbish.  I had a Primark umbrella and it lasted me years.  I digress.  So I persist with my broken umbrella, flapping about, metal bits sticking in my hair.  Mild mutterings to myself as I plod on.

Don't buy totes umbrellas

As I do so, a wave, yes, a wave of rain water gets splashed all over me from a passing car, I am now soaking.  I get rage, I can feel that small burn inside me, questioning whether I should just turn back and go home.  I don’t.  Instead, I get my phone out, to text my rage and the fact I have been splashed head to toe in dirty rain road water ;-).  I text furiously, whilst holding broken umbrella, and….

Don't walk and text

I walk straight into a road sign post. Tears well up in my eye, I look around to see if anyone has scene, and in fairness, I didn’t hurt myself that much – but wow did I scream with anger!!!

After my mini tantrum, I get to the train station, sit on the train, someone sits next to me even though there are a lot of spaces around everywhere, whatevs. I am sodden and miserable, someone opens a window, to really accentuate the freezing cold temperatures.  I don’t even moan, don’t even ask to shut the window.  I am broken.  On the plus side, I’ve never been so glad to arrive in my lovely warm office – and you don’t hear me say that often!

Mr. OA (Oblivious Arsehole)

I thought  I would introduce you all to the man that I hate aka Oblivious Arsehole (OA) as I feel that he may feature continuously in this little blog over time (unless I get a new job and stop getting the train at certain times). 

I almost wish I could post a picture of him, but that would be unfair of me, so we will have to make do with this cartoon, and imagine him as short, slightly tanned, big lipped, suitably posh, probably in investment banking, but with a marketer-esque look.

So I met this guy actually on the tube, I was running to get on a very busy central line, got on with a decent amount of time, and Mr OA jumped on behind me and winded me, yes no exaggeration, he winded me as he jumped on and rammed me with such force.  Sort of said sorry after, but it was so nonchalant and care free that I took an automatic dislike to this self-centred dick who should have got on the next tube rather than jump on a space that didn’t exist, and wind me from behind. 

Unfortunately, from that day forward I haven’t stopped seeing him, he’s always being a total non-gentleman, he’s the type of guy that will push you out of the way for a seat on the tube, never offer a woman a seat, probably punch a pregnant woman in the stomach (okay, so I get carried away) but he’s an arsehole, and I am a very good judge of character. 

One day I got on the tube to find him being heavily flirtatious with one of his colleagues (he’s married by the way).  Then I find that he gets the train back to my little town, so not only does he plague me on the tube, but also my train home too, and then this week, he was there, on my morning train, standing behind me, being…pushy, annoying, arrogant.  He sat in First Class though, God knows if he actually has a First Class ticket (he probably thinks he deserves one), I would have texted ‘Dodger’ to Greater Anglia, if it wasn’t for the fact that I enjoy him being in a separate compartment from me.

Any of you guys have a OA on your commutes?