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anarchist_nomad Jul. 1st, 2009 10:55 pm)
anarchist_nomad Jul. 1st, 2009 10:55 pm)Looks like the Oxford Tube must have done something to really torque off the Bus Gods, as its karma has been quite hellacious today!
This morning, I had planned to get out the door by ten o'clock to make my way into London. Didn't happen, as a number of errands got in the way. I ended up at the bus stop by about twenty past eleven, feeling somewhat guilty about the late start to my workday. Turns out, I did the right thing. There was a large crowd of people waiting at the bus stop. The bus came ten minutes later, at half eleven... but one of the women waiting told me that she had been there since ten o'clock! Much better to have a productive hour and change getting things done, rather than sitting at the bus stop. Still, I have never seen such a delay in the morning! I chalked it up to the current heat wave, and I believe that at least one of the buses overheated.
So I dodged a bullet this morning -- go me, yes? Fast forward to this evening.
After working with a student at Queen Mary University of London today, I started to head home around half seven. I rang![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
cheshcat to let her know that I would be back in Oxford around half nine. Wishful thinking! Maybe this would be reasonable on some other day... but not today!
I arrived at the coach stop at eight o'clock. As I was approaching, I saw an Oxford Tube zip by. Bugger! If I had been about a minute earlier, I would have been on it! Oh, well. This is not an unknown occurrence, and the next coach is usually ten to fifteen minutes behind. I had Glittering Images in my bag, so I opened it up and started reading.
Around half eight, I noticed that I had been waiting quite some time.
By nine o'clock, quite a large crowd had gathered.
At half nine, an Oxford Tube came into sight... and zipped on by, with SORRY, COACH FULL displayed in lights on the front. I had sated myself with reading, so I started chatting with some of the other people who were waiting.
Eventually, at 9:50, another coach arrived with space for passengers. An hour and fifty minutes?? This was, by far, a record for how long I have had to wait to get on a coach to or from Oxford!
By this time, about thirty people were waiting to get on board; it was almost certain that the coach would not have room for us all. As the person who had been waiting the longest, I pushed my way to the front of the queue to get on first. Furthermore, as the first person at the bus stop, I recognised the people who had arrived soon after, who had been waiting nearly as long as me. I pointed at one bloke in a green shirt and announced that he was getting on next, after me, and then at a couple who I said were third and fourth. Beyond that, I didn't track who had arrived when, so I left the rest of the crowd to fend for themselves. But I wasn't going to let those of us who waited nearly two hours be denied a seat whilst a latecomer hopped on. As they passed by me to find their seats, the couple I had designated as #3 and #4 thanked me for my effort on their behalf.
Due to the angering of the Bus Gods, I am not quite home yet... even though it is nearly eleven o'clock at night. I am still a'riding on the Oxford Tube. When I get in to the Flat With No Name, I expect thatcheshcat will be asleep -- she has a big day tomorrow. My plan is to eat dinner, then hop into bed; I need to be on the coach back to London around eight, as I have a meeting at ten tomorrow morning. Oi!
Despite the delay -- and I am not a man known for my patience -- I am in reasonably good spirits. I reminded myself of how much I enjoy reading outside in the Summer evening air. Instead of my patio in Oxford, it was a bus stop in London... but I still got to read outside as the sun went down. Although I will not do much at home tonight, I am not missing any evening plans, either. If I had theatre tickets or bell ringing or some other extra-curricular activity that I missed due to the late bus, I would likely be seething. Luckily, though, there were no special plans for tonight -- as there were for both yesterday and tomorrow -- so I am not missing out on anything from the long wait.
Getting close to home now. It will be good to get there, greet the shark, and pet my kitties. Dinner will be quite welcome, too...
This morning, I had planned to get out the door by ten o'clock to make my way into London. Didn't happen, as a number of errands got in the way. I ended up at the bus stop by about twenty past eleven, feeling somewhat guilty about the late start to my workday. Turns out, I did the right thing. There was a large crowd of people waiting at the bus stop. The bus came ten minutes later, at half eleven... but one of the women waiting told me that she had been there since ten o'clock! Much better to have a productive hour and change getting things done, rather than sitting at the bus stop. Still, I have never seen such a delay in the morning! I chalked it up to the current heat wave, and I believe that at least one of the buses overheated.
So I dodged a bullet this morning -- go me, yes? Fast forward to this evening.
After working with a student at Queen Mary University of London today, I started to head home around half seven. I rang
cheshcat to let her know that I would be back in Oxford around half nine. Wishful thinking! Maybe this would be reasonable on some other day... but not today!I arrived at the coach stop at eight o'clock. As I was approaching, I saw an Oxford Tube zip by. Bugger! If I had been about a minute earlier, I would have been on it! Oh, well. This is not an unknown occurrence, and the next coach is usually ten to fifteen minutes behind. I had Glittering Images in my bag, so I opened it up and started reading.
Around half eight, I noticed that I had been waiting quite some time.
By nine o'clock, quite a large crowd had gathered.
At half nine, an Oxford Tube came into sight... and zipped on by, with SORRY, COACH FULL displayed in lights on the front. I had sated myself with reading, so I started chatting with some of the other people who were waiting.
Eventually, at 9:50, another coach arrived with space for passengers. An hour and fifty minutes?? This was, by far, a record for how long I have had to wait to get on a coach to or from Oxford!
By this time, about thirty people were waiting to get on board; it was almost certain that the coach would not have room for us all. As the person who had been waiting the longest, I pushed my way to the front of the queue to get on first. Furthermore, as the first person at the bus stop, I recognised the people who had arrived soon after, who had been waiting nearly as long as me. I pointed at one bloke in a green shirt and announced that he was getting on next, after me, and then at a couple who I said were third and fourth. Beyond that, I didn't track who had arrived when, so I left the rest of the crowd to fend for themselves. But I wasn't going to let those of us who waited nearly two hours be denied a seat whilst a latecomer hopped on. As they passed by me to find their seats, the couple I had designated as #3 and #4 thanked me for my effort on their behalf.
Due to the angering of the Bus Gods, I am not quite home yet... even though it is nearly eleven o'clock at night. I am still a'riding on the Oxford Tube. When I get in to the Flat With No Name, I expect that
cheshcat will be asleep -- she has a big day tomorrow. My plan is to eat dinner, then hop into bed; I need to be on the coach back to London around eight, as I have a meeting at ten tomorrow morning. Oi!Despite the delay -- and I am not a man known for my patience -- I am in reasonably good spirits. I reminded myself of how much I enjoy reading outside in the Summer evening air. Instead of my patio in Oxford, it was a bus stop in London... but I still got to read outside as the sun went down. Although I will not do much at home tonight, I am not missing any evening plans, either. If I had theatre tickets or bell ringing or some other extra-curricular activity that I missed due to the late bus, I would likely be seething. Luckily, though, there were no special plans for tonight -- as there were for both yesterday and tomorrow -- so I am not missing out on anything from the long wait.
Getting close to home now. It will be good to get there, greet the shark, and pet my kitties. Dinner will be quite welcome, too...
