This evening, however, I was up at Maiden Lane for 6.30pm Mass, which was followed as usual by a drink nearby. It was there that I learned from Leutgeb of Bara Brith that I had missed the main Catholic news story of the day: Pope Benedict's Address to the Bishops of England and Wales. Leaving reasonably early I reckoned that I would have time to write something without staying up too late.
... TFL (Transport for London) had other ideas. Having luckily caught a number 11 bus from the Strand to Westminster, I was on schedule to be home by 10pm. After I had descended through Westminster Station (which always reminds me of the Nazi rocket-firing bunker in Normandy) there was a platform announcement that the Jubilee line was suspended between Green Park and Waterloo. It is possible to get the District & Circle Line to Embankment and then the Northern Line to Waterloo but I thought I would be virtuous and walk over Westminster Bridge ("The exercise will do you good, Father.")
Then (having once again gone down to the platform), I heard the announcement that the Line was now suspended between Green Park and London Bridge. Rather than take the Bakerloo Line to the Elephant and then the City branch of the Northern Line up to London Bridge, I took the SE railway from Waterloo East.
At London Bridge, a train arrived at the platform, slowed down enticingly and then drove off again. It had been vandalised, apparently. I finally got to North Greenwich at about 10.30pm and home shortly before 11pm. This is the consoling message posted at the TFL website:
8 comments:
You should have stayed at the pub with us instead Father! I left a lot later and got in at a reasonable time.
The mid part of your post reminds me somewhat of Mornington Crescent...
Hard luck! Slow alternative is DLR from Bank (via Cannon Street) to Canary Wharf/Heron Quays, then Jubilee. Also walk to London Bridge ...
Nice to hear you refer to the South Eastern Railway. On reflection, they always were a shower. Pity you could not use the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway. They were a far superior outfit.
Hmmmmmmm....... how do you read that sign? Well, here's an alternative interpretation left to your imagination...
'Failure at Westminster.... severe delays.....'
And I don't mean trains, buses and tubes!!!!
Our Bishops do have a lot to answer for ;-)
Was the LBSCR known for "London, Brighton & South Coast Religion" but also as the "Longtime Blighted & Slow Coach Railway" better than the London, Chatham & Dover (also known as the "Land 'em, Smash 'em and Over" or the "London, Smash'em and Turnover")?
Hmm, what about walking to Charing Cross and catching a train to Eltham and 132 bus to Blackfen, or to Sidcup and 51 bus to Blackfen? Or were you parked at North Greenwich?
Well my car was at North Greenwich but I must correct the "Eltham" bit. Eltham Station is miles away. It would be better to go to Welling and catch the 51 or New Eltham and get the B13. The latter is usually the best as the bus stops at the Church. But sometimes they miss one out and you are then left standing at the bus stop for 30 minutes...
Oh the joys of TFL's provision south of the river!
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