When I got on to the computer this morning to check that the trains were running before I set off for work I groaned when I saw the red "Cancelled" signs and warning message indicating that there were problems after Wimbledon with delays of "up to 30 minutes", which is SW Trains code for "bring a toothbrush and shaving kit" from previous experience. My normal route is into Waterloo, on the Waterloo and City line to Bank and then a five-minute walk to the office. A quick check of the bus departures showed that I wasn't easily going to be able to get to Morden and onto the Northern Line to Moorgate (and a short walk) so I decided to take my chances and see if I could make it to Wimbledon, which would get me on to the district line to Cannon Street (and a long walk).
Happily when I got to the station there was an unscheduled train waiting, presumably the apparently cancelled 06.12, so I hopped on that only to find that it was going to terminate at Raynes Park and not take me to Wimbledon. When the doors opened at Raynes Park most people bundled onto a train waiting at the other platform but myself and a few others headed to the bus stop, probably veterans of previous commuting disappointments who thought that the train wasn't likely to be going anywhere anytime soon. My plan was to get a bus into Wimbledon and jump on the District Line to Cannon Street but as a number 57 pulled up I realised that it could take me to South Wimbledon and onto the Northern Line to Moorgate! Yes!!
That all went to plan and I happily settled into my seat but was roused a few stops later when the guard announced that the train controller was redirecting the train via Charing Cross and not via Bank as advertised. Half the passengers hopped off that train and onto the next one and settled in for the remainder of the ride in the hope of a peaceful journey. But no... at Elephant & Castle we were told that Bank station was now closed due to a fire alert so the train wouldn't be stopping. While that wouldn't affect me current journey I breathed a grateful sigh as my normal route would have put me on the way to Bank station, or now more accurately into the bus queues outside Waterloo.
Finally I got to Moorgate and after a short walk was celebrating my micro-adventure with a cup of tea. What was the net effect of my adventures? I was ten minutes later than my normal arrival time. Result!
So how did you get on with the trains this morning fellow commuters? Anybody see my tweet before they set out?
Tuesday, 17 January 2012
Friday, 13 January 2012
It's the BIG GAME!
Guernsey are top of the table in the Combined Counties Division 1 with a 20 wins from 22 games with only one draw and a loss and they're used to playing in front of home crowds of over 1,000 whereas Worcester Park are in 9th place and have 10 wins, 3 draws and 9 losses. With Worcester Park having scored 4 goals last week in their win over Epsom & Ewell and Guernsey having a goal difference of +78 (that's an average of more than +3 per game) there should be a fair few goals to watch.
It'll cost you a couple of quid to get in if you're not a member but that then gives you access to the bar and freshly-cooked hot food is available all the way through. Kick off is at 2pm rather than the more conventional 3pm as Worcester Park don't have floodlights so make sure you get there on time.
Game on!!
Monday, 2 January 2012
A Footie New Year
Happy New Year I you all! I helped celebrate mine by heading down to Green Lane today and watching Worcester Park FC take on the might of Cobham in the Combined Counties League with the two teams in 10th and 9th place respectively in the table. A lacklustre first half saw better play from Cobham but no goals though a nicely-priced cheeseburger and chips plus a cup of tea helped stave off the cold and liven the spirits. At the beginning of the second half the 50 strong crowd saw Worcester Park come out transformed and after a few good chances went begging they were rewarded with a lob that put both the ball and the goalie in the back of Cobham's net. After 15 minutes or so Cobham took control but failed to convert the pressure into goals and were punished for their failures when Worcester Park put in a second goal just before the final whistle. It's unusual to go to a stadium where the number of spectators decreases every time a train pulls out and it wasn't the greatest football I've ever seen but it was a good result, which should lift Worcester Park above Cobham in the table, and really nice way to spend a couple of hours on a Bank Holiday Monday.EDIT: The score on the FA site says that it was 3 - 0 in the end so that must have happened when I took Brinkster Minor off to the toilet. Typical eh?
Wednesday, 14 December 2011
Night-time pursuits
I met a woman in a lay-by outside Dorking last night. She was already there when I arrived and from the moment I stepped out of the car it was clear that we were both looking for the same thing. What drove us to be there it's hard to say, be it some desire to push beyond the mundane or some dark character flaw that brings people like us to lay-bys on dark country roads on a cold December night.
Oi! Behave! We are both hobbyist astronomers and we were there to see the Geminid meteor shower that occurs at this time of year. She'd turned up on a whim having seen the clear sky which was defying the weather forecasters dire prognostications and I'd been planning to go since the weather radar showed the rain passing by and leaving a clear sky behind it and I'd chosen that place from looking up good spotting locations on the Stargazers Lounge astronomy site. Although we'd never met before and despite it being coincidence that had caused our paths to cross we were soon chatting like we were old friends, partly about Messier objects, Global Catalogue numbers and how bright Orion was but also through her parents recent separation, the end of her own seven year relationship and her new job in Salisbury which she would start in January. I found myself talking about my family and my battle with cancer, a subject initiated by her saying that her Grandfather had died of pancreatic cancer 24 hours after being diagnosed at the beginning of the year. She said that from her experience it was a popular spot for star-gazing but nobody else turned up while we were there and she said that was probably due to a combination of car problems, colds and the grim weather forecast. We rarely looked at each other in the dark while we talked but kept our eyes fixed on the sky and were periodically rewarded with the fleeting trail of a speck of stardust spectacularly hurtling to its fiery end against the atmosphere many miles above us, much to our delight. I feel slightly bad that today I couldn't pick her out of an identity parade if you held a loaded gun to my head but then I find that meteorites are mesmerising things.
For some reason if you give me something to do, for example write a blog post, some kind of attention-deficit thing will kick in and within minutes I'll be distracted by something else much less important, but fleetingly engaging. Profound speeches, famous rock bands, impressive presentations, I've tired of them all, but if you ask me to sit out in my garden or a cold field for an hour or two staring at a patch of sky in the hope of seeing a fleeting astronomical event then I have no problem. I never have understood quite how that works, and nor do I expect to...
I remember when I was much younger my Dad taking me to cricket matches after school and while he would sit and chat with his friends they would keep half an eye on the field of play and it seems to me that astronomy is similar in many ways in that it's a social endeavour where rain also stops play but instead of men in white outfits to look at you have most of the universe! Did you know that 92% of your body mass is made up of the debris of ancient stars? At the beginning of the universe only Hydrogen, Helium and Lithium were present so any element heavier that than came into being in the heart of an ancient star and was ejected when it died. Think about that the next time you look up into a night sky or wonder about the meaning of life.
In the end some high and wispy clouds eventually came to spoil our fun, in combination with a particularly bright moon, so we packed our kit away and said our goodbyes. We may meet again on the hills above Dorking but probably not, though I'm certainly happier for having been there on that cold December evening. I will remember it.
The Geminids peak tonight and if you miss those then the Quadrantids start on Dec 28, peaking around Jan 3rd/4th.
Oi! Behave! We are both hobbyist astronomers and we were there to see the Geminid meteor shower that occurs at this time of year. She'd turned up on a whim having seen the clear sky which was defying the weather forecasters dire prognostications and I'd been planning to go since the weather radar showed the rain passing by and leaving a clear sky behind it and I'd chosen that place from looking up good spotting locations on the Stargazers Lounge astronomy site. Although we'd never met before and despite it being coincidence that had caused our paths to cross we were soon chatting like we were old friends, partly about Messier objects, Global Catalogue numbers and how bright Orion was but also through her parents recent separation, the end of her own seven year relationship and her new job in Salisbury which she would start in January. I found myself talking about my family and my battle with cancer, a subject initiated by her saying that her Grandfather had died of pancreatic cancer 24 hours after being diagnosed at the beginning of the year. She said that from her experience it was a popular spot for star-gazing but nobody else turned up while we were there and she said that was probably due to a combination of car problems, colds and the grim weather forecast. We rarely looked at each other in the dark while we talked but kept our eyes fixed on the sky and were periodically rewarded with the fleeting trail of a speck of stardust spectacularly hurtling to its fiery end against the atmosphere many miles above us, much to our delight. I feel slightly bad that today I couldn't pick her out of an identity parade if you held a loaded gun to my head but then I find that meteorites are mesmerising things.
For some reason if you give me something to do, for example write a blog post, some kind of attention-deficit thing will kick in and within minutes I'll be distracted by something else much less important, but fleetingly engaging. Profound speeches, famous rock bands, impressive presentations, I've tired of them all, but if you ask me to sit out in my garden or a cold field for an hour or two staring at a patch of sky in the hope of seeing a fleeting astronomical event then I have no problem. I never have understood quite how that works, and nor do I expect to...
I remember when I was much younger my Dad taking me to cricket matches after school and while he would sit and chat with his friends they would keep half an eye on the field of play and it seems to me that astronomy is similar in many ways in that it's a social endeavour where rain also stops play but instead of men in white outfits to look at you have most of the universe! Did you know that 92% of your body mass is made up of the debris of ancient stars? At the beginning of the universe only Hydrogen, Helium and Lithium were present so any element heavier that than came into being in the heart of an ancient star and was ejected when it died. Think about that the next time you look up into a night sky or wonder about the meaning of life.
In the end some high and wispy clouds eventually came to spoil our fun, in combination with a particularly bright moon, so we packed our kit away and said our goodbyes. We may meet again on the hills above Dorking but probably not, though I'm certainly happier for having been there on that cold December evening. I will remember it.
The Geminids peak tonight and if you miss those then the Quadrantids start on Dec 28, peaking around Jan 3rd/4th.
Friday, 9 December 2011
Last stop for the One Stop Party Shop
Earlier in the week I heard rumour that the One Stop Party Shop had been closed down and the notice in the front door this morning would appear to confirm that.
Apart from the obvious loss of another Worcester Park shop it's sad that it should have come just days after owner Terry Dobbs had organised one of the biggest and best Christmas evenings that Worcester Park has seen for years. Unless someone takes up the reins for Worcester Park business it may be the last Christmas shopping evening we'll see in Worcester Park for some years, and the Brinkster clan won't take well to that news.
Apart from the obvious loss of another Worcester Park shop it's sad that it should have come just days after owner Terry Dobbs had organised one of the biggest and best Christmas evenings that Worcester Park has seen for years. Unless someone takes up the reins for Worcester Park business it may be the last Christmas shopping evening we'll see in Worcester Park for some years, and the Brinkster clan won't take well to that news.
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