Travelling Blues
So, my weekend back home…
Thursday, I travelled up. Got to the train station, went to activate my ticket on the app, only to discover they had cancelled the Edinburgh – Aberdeen leg of the journey. No info on replacement busses or anything, just “Sorry for the inconvenience”. So, I phoned my parents and decided to worry about it when I got to Edinburgh.
Got the train to Darlington no problem, got on the train to Edinburgh, only to discover that they decided not to bother with seat reservations. Found a seat and settled down to watch The Bear.
The train stops at Berwick. And it doesn’t move, even after it became obvious that everyone who was boarding had done. First of all, we were told it was a problem with the overhead line. Then, we were told it was that a train broke down, but it was OK because they were sending a train to recover it. Then, the recovery train got there, only to discover that the problems with the broken down train meant it couldn’t be towed. Finally, they got the line cleared and we were off.
We got in to Edinburgh too late for a train to Aberdeen, so I was given the choice between a bus or a later train to Dundee. At that point, I would have crawled if that was the quickest way to get to Aberdeen, so I took the bus.
Friday, I went for a swim. The council pool nearest my mums house has reopened after about 18 months closed, so I went there. It’s a nice pool, but I’m not going back soon. It’s a 25 meter pool and I am not ready for that just yet.
Friday night was the Grace Petrie gig. The support act was Robyn Davidson, who is from Aberdeen and I really enjoyed her set. Grace Petrie was on top form. Highlights include her being surprised when I said I had travelled from Boro for the gig and her getting us to get the attention of a couple who were talking at the bar during her set. (Seriously, why would you buy a ticket for a gig and spend the time talking?) Lowlights were having to pay £4.50 for a lukewarm can of lager.
Saturday, I went into town. I got a frame for mum and dads present. I also had a look at the plans the council has for the beach. It’s mostly stuff that’s been proposed before, the plan for the pier is ridiculous and it appears there’s been little to no actual thought put into the whole thing (which my sister would later confirm to me when she told me that the surfing area they are planning was originally placed in an area that’s not safe for surfing.) I also looked at the plans for the revamp of the main street in town and, again, nothing that hasn’t been proposed before.
Sunday, my sister and brother in law came round (my nephew stayed over Saturday night) and we went for a pub meal. It was a fun time. Then I went into town for the Frank Turner gig.
Pet Needs were the support act. I’ve heard them before, but this was the first time seeing them live. They were brilliant. Frank Turner was excellent. He had the whole place bouncing and singing along. I managed to get near the front by the end of the gig and I wasn’t the oldest person there. There were two women, at least in their mid 50’s, as well. They were getting jostled a fair bit. One accepted an invitation to stand at the barrier, but the other one didn’t. So some of the audience formed a human barrier around her to protect her.
(The main pic is my favourite pic from the night.)
Monday, didn’t do much. Tuesday, I came home.
Thankfully, I noticed before we left the house that the train to Darlington had been cancelled, so we didn’t need to leave so early. I got the next train, which was a different company but was honouring our tickets. Got a seat and thought I’d be set to Darlington. Which is when there was an announcement that they were only honouring my ticket to Edinburgh. Changed train there and we were well underway when the train stopped for 10 minutes because someone pressed the emergency button. Because of course that happened. Why not.
Finally got home, went to the gym for a swim and a soak in the jacuzzi.
I’ll leave you with some Primetime Entertainment:
Will
When the kids were younger, I thought it would be fun to take a daylong train with a dining car from our home in Southern California to San Francisco, where we’d say for a few days and see some friends and be tourists. It was a nice idea, but Amtrak (our federal train company) was working on the tracks and no one had let me know when I booked the tickets. There were delays the whole time, so instead of taking about 7 to 8 hours it took almost 12 hours. We were very late getting in to SF and were lucky that they kept our hotel room for us. We did get to eat in the dining car but had to have dinner at 10 o’clock because that’s the earliest reservation I could get. The way home was even worse and ended up being less than 50 percent train and more than 50 percent bus, but we were happy to be home. The best-laid plans!
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As it happens I saw Frank in Leeds ten days before this! My experience was similar to yours except I stayed well back after learning what it’s like at the front of an Interrupters gig a few months earlier. Pet Needs were on for us as well and before them we had an American Country act called ‘Truckstop Honeymoon’ who were ten times better than I had expected them to be.
@rodge I refuse to accept that I’m too old not to be as far to the front at gigs as possible. I saw The Interrupters when I was at Slam Dunk North, became a fan of theirs
@williamthebloody I’m 38 and happily accepted it.
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