Today London Underground was gripped by another 24 hour Tube strike and I had site meetings to get to in Victoria and Islington. I always refuse to be beaten by these strike actions, especially when in this case I am having extreme difficulty in seeing the justice of their cause. When we are all having to face cut backs and draw in our financial belts [so to speak] to get through the recession, causing havoc for other Londoners trying to get to work isn't playing fair.
I made contingency plans and left home extra early which is not easy for me as I do not do early mornings. I used an overground train part of the way into Central London and used one of the few tube lines running with minimum disruption to get to my meeting not just on time but an hour early.
It helps to be very familiar with London and all the various routes; tube, bus and walking.
I was born in London and have lived here all my life. On most days I really enjoy living and working in London but I can understand the frustration of the tourists I met today who were totally lost trying to work out how to get to their hotels on arrival off the Gatwick Express at Victoria without spending a fortune on a taxi. The extra hour I had gained by my fortuitous journey gave me the time to play Transport Guide. It was nice to be able to put my knowledge to good use.
Hello MM. This is the first time I have visited you and thanks for dropping by my place. You have my sincere commiserations for having lived most of your life in London. It's easy to see why you needed a second home in Ibiza but you should have picked Yorkshire instead. We have electricity up here now.
ReplyDeleteA foggy day in London town;
ReplyDeleteI couldn't take the underground;
The prospect of walking caused alarm;
The transportation workers had lost their charm...
YP thanks for the visit, I have ventured beyond the Watford Gap! I've worked on projects "Up North" and enjoyed the experience but not always the weather. The selection of Spain and virtually guaranteed sunshine won the day. Not only do I have electricity in Spain I actually organised the building and commissioning of my own Transformer.
ReplyDeleteRWP - liked the poem, check out a few of mine see Transportation Poet Blog.