wyambezi 
|
I was going to ask if you were planning to attend the concert. I'm happy you are and that you're all set. I bet it'll be another good one. :)
Reply #4561. Feb 27 12, 4:07 PM
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| lesley153
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| Ooh yes! I try to get to his concerts if I can, and thank you, I think this will be good. |
Reply #4562. Feb 27 12, 8:17 PM
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Jazmee27
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Have a great time :)
Reply #4563. Feb 27 12, 9:11 PM
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| lesley153
|
Thank you, Jazmee - I shall make sure of it.
When he was at school, he played in all the youth orchestras and a few amateur adult ones, and was worried that he wouldn't find the same opportunities when he left. He got to college in London, and the playing opportunities came crashing in.
Now he's working, the same orchestras still need players, more orchestras look at other orchestras for more players, and musicians know other musicians who can join them. This is very good news for his pleasure and his sanity - and for me because it means I'm still getting days out. :) |
Reply #4564. Feb 27 12, 9:28 PM
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Professer
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Sounds good for you Lesley, not been to a show now for 2 years need to get back into the routine, will see what i can organise for myself.
Is good your son has the opportunities to play and i am sure more will come for him.
Reply #4565. Feb 28 12, 4:51 AM
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| lesley153
|
Two years - that's easily long enough to get withdrawal symptoms!
Yes, the more you do, the more you get seen and known, and it just snowballs. |
Reply #4566. Feb 28 12, 7:37 AM
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| lesley153
|
Today I sold Jonathan's dead Clio for scrap and my moribund Jag for parts, and have a few pounds (not many) in my pocket. Tomorrow I shall have space to dance on the front drive, and I shall be able to walk freely along the side of the house.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
A few weeks ago, Jonathan was full of excitement because he and his girlfriend were going to see a Maxim Vengarov concert - in Paris!
Today at 2pm they got on a Eurostar train in London, supposed to arrive in Paris at about 4.30, plenty of time for the concert starting at 8pm. They shot to the tunnel, shot through the tunnel, got to Lille, and stopped. They limped another mile or so, then stopped again.
It's now 9pm here, 10pm in Lille, and they are still sitting on the train. There is nothing on the SNCF website, and there was nothing on the Eurostar website till an hour ago, when they finally admitted to delays till tomorrow lunchtime. I hope that doesn't mean they'll still be on the train tomorrow lunchtime. Obviously all the food on the train sold out hours ago.
And why this has happened depends on where you look.
- Bad weather
- A fire in the tunnel
- Planned engineering works in the Calais area
- Problems with overhead wires
- An "incident" involving another train, which emergency services are dealing with.
- An overhead power cable on the line.
Half an hour ago, the passengers heard that an "engine" had arrived to fix the train in front, but it's "not as easy as it should be."
With hindsight, I wonder if they would have
1. flown
2. stayed at home and waited for Vengarov to come to London. |
Reply #4567. Mar 05 12, 3:06 PM
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| lesley153
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| Just wondering what Al Murray would make of it. But really more concerned with their well-being. It is common knowledge that passengers are at the bottom of the list of things that train operators care about. |
Reply #4568. Mar 05 12, 3:09 PM
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satguru
|
Wow, some things never change. I've used trains here most of my life and they all arrived where intended pretty much on time, even for the period you had to change at Doncaster for Hull and wait about half an hour on the platform each way. They can go direct again now but I'm not doing it specially.
So around the same era I went to Paris and back, and coming from Paris were told there was a strike, and stopped guess where, Lille. We ended up diverted to Dunkirk, leaving on the boat around 3am, and once arrived in Folkestone got a train straight away to Charing Cross despite being way off schedule. It seems little changes, their trains may be way faster than ours but only when moving. Stopping like the hare and the tortoise every so often will tend to even out that equation. But I didn't realise Eurostar was the same, I was lucky when I used it. I'd push for compensation and check every letter of the small print as there are fixed conditions for failure and they may or may not have breached them.
Reply #4569. Mar 05 12, 4:14 PM
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| lesley153
|
An hour or so ago, I rang the hotel to say their guests would be late - how late is anyone's guess. They have a 24-hour desk, so it'll be OK, but thanks for letting them know. No, the hotel doesn't sell food this late. There will be a continental breakfast at 7am.
Now that's a wonderful thing, the continental breakfast - a sugar rush followed by an insulin rush followed by headaches or migraines or blackouts or all three - and this in a country that bangs on about how good its food is. It can be as good as it likes if there isn't any of it. There'll be coffee and hot chocolate. Yes, that'll really help when they haven't eaten since lunch.
I rang back and told him I'd contacted the hotel. He said thanks but thy're now talking about sending us from Wattignies Templemars back to Lille. For a hot meal and a warm bed, perhaps?
Five minutes ago, just after 11pm, he texted to tell me that they were on their way to Paris, and would arrive about 1.30am. Is that 1.30 our time or their time? Don't know, didn't ask, past caring. If it's 1.30am our time, they'll have been in the train for eleven and a half hours, of which about eight were stationary. I've never heard of a train in Britain being stuck for anywhere near that long.
He's just told me that they're breaking news on the BBC website. Woohoo fame! Here 'tis:
 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17267334
Note that there has been ten times as much information on Twitter than there has been on any of the travel sites.
I'm just inexpressibly relieved that they're moving. Please let them not stop again! |
Reply #4570. Mar 05 12, 5:27 PM
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| lesley153
|
It's 12.30am here, 1.30am there, and they've arrived and are now looking for their hotel. I can relax. :)
Ridiculing British Rail has been a national sport for a while. I don't know if BR deserves it! Who'd have thought that French trains were even worse than ours? |
Reply #4571. Mar 05 12, 6:29 PM
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| veronikkamarrz
|
That would scare the crap out of me! I would just imagine the worst. Could you talk to them via cell, or anything?
Can you drive to where they were going? Oh geeze...Well, when you get a new vehicle...Sorry.
Glad things are moving along. Very nerve wracking. Jonathan must stay home now, because it's too much pressure on MuM!:)
Reply #4572. Mar 05 12, 10:42 PM
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Professer
|
Is shocking to read that Lesley take it they are safe and sound in paris, was a news flash on bbc about 11pm saying there was power troubles for eurostar.
Reply #4573. Mar 06 12, 5:38 AM
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| lesley153
|
The most annoying thing was the lack of information. There was nothing on the Eurostar site for hours. There's a page on which "major disruptions will appear" and it was empty most of the time. As Jonathan said, if being stuck in a train for three and a half hours isn't a major disruption, I hate to think what is.
The only news was on Twitter, from disgruntled passengers! Imagine eight hours sitting somewhere nobody has ever heard of, no food, adequate alcohol, of course: scufffles here and there as people tried to get off the train, which was verboten, so no fresh air, and policemen walking up and down the train.
Someone on the train went into hypoglycaemic shock.
Passengers said that they had no idea what was going on and that Eurostar staff were uncooperative and rude.
The journey should have taken two and a half hours but theirs was extended by eight hours.
We probably exchanged about twenty texts each, until they arrived at the hotel. They didn't bother looking for food - they were past hunger and too tired to care. He texted at 9am to say "Just heading up the Arc de Triomphe." I rang him an hour ago and we spoke for 30 seconds. The train back leaves in just under three hours.
Worse than the journey is the inexpressible disappointment of missing the concert. It was arranged with so much pleasure and excitement - travel to Paris for a concert by one of the best violinists ever, and a meal afterwards - completely crushed by the sheer hopelessness of the train companies. However much compensation they get, it's not going to make up for the lost moment.
He's gone through the Channel tunnel before, in cars, but this was his first time on Eurostar. It may be a cold day in hell before he trusts Eurostar again. |
Reply #4574. Mar 06 12, 12:23 PM
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Professer
|
Is a terrible thing Lesley and feel for hoim nothing worse then no information, bbc news had a a few comments on their story earlier with comments from passengers.
Had a similar expirienbce 10 years ago when flying o switzerland problem with plane lack of info arrived 6 hours late thankfully was staying with a friend the holiday was great.
Reply #4575. Mar 06 12, 2:36 PM
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| lesley153
|
He did actually email the BBC with some information and some thoughts on helping the patient who was having a hypo. I haven't seen them so I expect they've been filed in the bin.
Quote from BBC news:
"A Eurostar spokeswoman said journeys had been delayed by up to seven hours... "
The 2pm train was actually delayed by eight hours, which is not a negligible difference, and tells you (once again) that Eurostar don't seem to know which way is up.
I'm glad your holiday in Switzerland worked out in the end. I haven't asked him how he feels or what he's going to do next, because he probably won't have an answer. I've stuck to times, progress, and what the hotel people said.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
As I left to walk to my Alexander lesson, a big trailer was being backed into my front garden. When I got home, there was more space than there has been for years. Now I have to do something I've never done before: buy a car.
I've been saying for ages that if money were no object I'd travel back to 1992 and buy the same car straight from the factory, but I'd drive it better second time round. I've been looking at pictures of it, and similar cars, and thought no, it's just silly. Something middle-sized, I think. Aargh decisions decisions! |
Reply #4576. Mar 06 12, 3:58 PM
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| lesley153
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| They're back in England - the train emerged from the Channel tunnel a few minutes ago. Phew. :) |
Reply #4577. Mar 06 12, 4:08 PM
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Professer
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Pleased they are home Lelsey, am trying to get my head round what doc said take care
Reply #4578. Mar 06 12, 4:37 PM
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| lesley153
|
I've had a look at your blog where your medical things are. I'll see you over there, Gary.
Man who bought the cars brought a friend with him, and I told them about the two AA patrolmen who had come when I had a flat battery. The first AA man said there's nothing wrong with the battery: just that it's flat. Drive round and charge it.
The second one said that the battery was well and truly dead, and wasn't holding a charge: and he couldn't understand why his colleague had said it was all right: and did I want to know how much a new battery would cost? (No, thank you.)
The buyer's friend asked me if they'd checked the alternator. My immediate answer was no, just the battery, and the man exploded with laughter.
They may have checked it, I don't know - I tend to let people get on with things.
But there was no point saying more, because he was doubled up on my front drive, shaking with laughter.
Tomorrow I shall make some phone calls to cancel the insurance and the breakdown cover, and remember to ask if there's any record of the actual work that's done when a patrolman calls. |
Reply #4579. Mar 06 12, 5:04 PM
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Professer
|
just read that a celeb was stuck on a train for a long time, did Jonathan know he was riding a train with sir paul McCartney?
Reply #4580. Mar 07 12, 5:18 AM
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