Monday 16 May 2011

Battle in Barnet

Had a great trip back to Barnet yesterday.

It was all planned - catch the 7.37 train to London, arrive at 10.01, then grap the tube to arrive in Barnet by 10.30 to meet up with my friend from Canada for a tour of the battlefield and then a wargame and a beer.

Got to the train station to find:

EMERGENCY TRACK REPAIRS - BUS SERVICE TO FAVERSHAM (3 STOPS) THE TRAINS DIVERTED TO CANNON STREET - LONDON VICTORIA (THE CENTRE OF LONDON IN MY MIND) CLOSED.

WTF?  There was nothing about this when I fine tuned my trip last week!!!!

So, half an hour later the bus arrives, and then chugs along until we can finally get a train.  I feel doomed, there is no way I am going to get to Barnet on time at this rate.

But then, as I travelled I had a growing thought - if I get off a stop early (London Bridge), that might put me in a better place to get to Barnet.

MIGHT...

This is me planning a short cut again...

That is always disasterous...

But the day is looking disasterous anyway.  Yes, Ken and I have no way of contacting each other...

So I took the gamble - and it paid off beautifully!  I rolled into the station at 10.27, to see my friend and his wife waiting on the platform for me.

We had a great day - strolled the battlefield, had photos taken, drank beer (called DOOM BAR) and played one of the best wargames ever - my general and his bodyguards smashed right through the enemy line and out the other side, fighting of repeated attacks, only to fall in one final death or glory charge.  If you have to lose a game, there is no better way!

After that, we finished our drinks and headed off to find some food before jumping back on the tube train into the city.  From there I headed for home while my friend and his wife returned to their hotel to get ready to see Roger Waters (The Wall) that evening.

A great day.

Now I have to focus on my exam tomorrow  :-(


Almost.

I mentioned my 2013 trip to these friends and they suggested that I should start my trip by visiting them in Edmonton, before travelling across to Gettysburg.  Not sure how practical this is, but it might make for a really interesting trip - Edmonton, Minneapolis/St Paul, Chicago, Gettysburg, Washington DC (or maybe New York) and then home?  I would not want to make lots of flights, so maybe I could use the trains or Greyhounds?  Will have to work on this - any comments/suggestions/advice more than welcome!

6 comments:

Shrinky said...

Hold up (fingers drumming), didn't you mention a photo somewhere..? C'mon, do you REALLY think you can get away with not posting it??

Good luck with with the exam!

Rock Chef said...

Shrinky - my friend has the photos - I will steal some when he posts them on FB. Thanks for the luck - I have a feeling I will need it, nothing is sticking to the sides today!

tz said...

how long is your visit going to be...because that's a lot of space to cover, you might be better off taking planes...trains between DC and NYC ok, but Chicago to any of those other places...planes...

If you stay in the Southern States..and the DC area, check out Colonial Williamsburg.

terri said...

Doesn't that just figure. Track repairs! Glad you were able to get where you were going in spite of the problems. Sounds like a GREAT day!

I'm not a traveler at all, so I don't have any great ideas for you at the moment. Sounds like there is plenty of time to plan though, so I could certainly help research your best options.

agg79 said...

That's the way life goes. Trains/buses run on schedule right up until the time you really need them. Glad you were able to overcome & adapt. I find those little challenges that life throws at you to make things more memorable. Or at least more thrilling.

Sounds like your trip is getting legs. How much time are you planning?

Good luck on the exam.

Rock Chef said...

TZ - Started as a short trip for a couple of days,but now looking like a couple of weeks! Hah, you tell me how far I will have to travel and then tempt me with more places!

Terri- It was a great day, thanks - and I might take you up on the help too!

Agg79 - Yes, it is "getting legs"! Probably going to be over for a couple of weeks the way things are going!