Demise of Monarch

I always thought that the events that are reported on the news are so distant from my daily life that they really won't impact on me directly.  Except this time the demise of Monarch did impact on me. I am a planner, my entire family are planners. We planned Christmas over the Summer hols and thought we had booked everything we needed for the family ro get together doe Christmas.  We booked flights with Monarch as it was the only company who would have flown them directly to destination. Except of course Monarch isn't going to fly at all so we have had to make alternative plans. It was surprisingly easy to book another flight- the rise of the internet has made travel easier. Getting the refund from my credit card company is not quite so easy. The flights were not insured via the ATOL because of the booking date, and the advice on the Monarch website was to contact the credit card company. Me plus another gazilion other customers. My bank's advice was to wait a few days before trying to reclaim the tickets so as to avoid the rush. I agreed, took notes on what to do and decided to sit on it for a while. Then the bank decided to text me advice. I thought that was considerate- something must have moved on and they have managed to streamline the process. I went to the website and actually there was close to no information on the website other than call the bank. If the banks have details of the transaction, which is why they texted me, why can't they just refund the ticket price? It seems like an extra layer of bureacracy, potentially to discourage people from claiming their refunds? Maybe that is cynical but I just can't see with cases like these, or even PPI, why the refund cannot be automatic. It is not like they don't have the information. 

Gatwick a real alternative to Heathrow?

I have always thought of Gatwick as being difficult to get to and therefore not really an option when I need to fly somewhere.  This stemmed from a bad travel experience over 10 years ago when I needed to fly from Gatwick.  I have changed my mind since this afternoon.

I am currently in Barcelona on business.  Having just had a baby I have had to work my schedule such that I could perform as many homely tasks as possible prior to my departure so as to make the next three days as easy on my other half as possible.  I also wanted to spend some time with Baby prior to my departure to make up for my prolonged absence- my first since his birth seven months ago.  Thus, I chose a flight in the afternoon such that I would arrive in Barcelona just before dinner time and would, therefore, have plenty of time to settle in and relax prior to an early start to a hectic day tomorrow.  The only flight available at a reasonable price was from Gatwick so I decided to take it, having first checked that the journey to Gatwick wouldn't be too complicated and drawn out.  It isn't on paper or in practice: a short trip to London Bridge from Canary Wharf on the Jubilee line (c. 15 minutes), a short wait at the train station, and then a short train journey from London Bridge to Gatwick South (c. 20 minutes).  Escalators and lifts were available at the stations so there was not much luggage lugging involved and it was a very relaxed trip.  In fact, I would go as far as to say that it was much easier than a trip from Canary Wharf to Heathrow.  This makes Gatwick a very convenient option for us to travel from, especially considering that a lot of cheap flights for popular holiday destinations depart from Gatwick.  We used to drive to Gatwick to fly to Switzerland for our ski trips; I don't think the use of the car is justified in our case as the trip by public transport is so easy.  A really good route, so thanks are due to the planners who made the airport so accessible.

Angry sardines

I was on the tube the other day and overheard an exchange that bothered me.  The degree of animosity exhibited by one of the commuters caught me by surprise.

The incident occurred on the Jubilee line between a passenger who was seated (passenger A) and another (B) who was standing next to the A.  It was a crowded train and people were pushed against each other.  A asked B whether he would like a seat.  B smiled and said no thanks.  A asked whether B was sure, whether he wouldn't like A's seat (while nodding at where B was leaning on the armrest), with some aggression in his tone.  B didn't know where to look and eventually got off at, I hope, his stop.  It may be that A felt aggrieved at being pushed into by another passenger, and I understand it can feel claustrophobic, but it is a reality of travelling at peak times.  There is little reason to make the situation any nastier than it has to be; it is not as if B had anywhere else he could move to.  

Whatever floats your boat

I have previously commented on how commuters tend to ignore each other while they are on the tube or bus, keeping their eyes on the floor or book or anything except their fellow commuters.  Perhaps in so doing they also feel that they have licence to do things on public transport as they don't think anyone will take notice.  Well I do notice and yesterday I witnessed two bits of action on my tube journeys that I thought worthy of mention.

My husband was away yesterday and I took Baby to nursery in the morning- one of my husband's chores.  Perhaps because it is a relatively unfamiliar route I was a little more alert to my surroundings than usual.  As soon as I got on the Jubilee line at Canning Town, I noticed a man holding on to the pole in the central standing room of the carriage.  The reason he caught my eye was that he seemed to be looking very intently at the floor or his own feet, as in he was bent almost double at the waist and looking down.  My initial thought was that he had dropped something and I should be careful where I tread.  Then he started to wiggle his hips, raised his torso from the waist up and bopped left and right, holding on to the pole and occasionally stepping slightly left, right, back or front.  He was actually dancing to the music that was being broadcast through his headphones.  Mercifully the music could not be heard by anyone else in the carriage; he must have had good headphones, or maybe he didn't need loud music to instigate a dance.  He was very amusing to watch, albeit also a little alarming as he seemed quite oblivious to the people around him and I was worried about being knocked over by his dance moves.  Perhaps he was protecting his personal space by doing his little dance routine.

The other person was a lady calmly applying mascara with one hand while using the image from her phone, which she held in her other hand, as a guide.  One couldn't help but wonder how she could keep her arm still enough for a precise application amidst all the movement from the train and her fellow commuters.  I was mesmerised by her exercise in stillness, just as much as I was entranced by the dancing commuter's movement.

Who says commuting is boring?  

The good Taxi Driver

I am currently working some strange hours and have been using a large, well known, London mini cab company to ferry me to and from work in the wee small hours of the morning.  I have found them to be extremely reliable and the drivers to be professional on all of the occasions that I have used them myself, or called a taxi on behalf of visiting friends and family.  My driver yesterday surpassed the usual friendliness I have come to expect from drivers of this company.  

I have been feeling a bit under the weather and am suffering from a cough that comes on infrequently during the day but is a bit persistent when it does happen.  The coughing fits happen when my throat is dry and drinking water stops them.  On this occasion I left the house without bringing a bottle of water with me for the journey and found myself coughing violently at the back of the cab.  The taxi driver asked if I wanted to be taken home as he didn't think I should be going to work in my state.  When I told him that I would be fine in a bit when I get some water at my destination, which wasn't that far off, he jumped out of the car while we were stopped at the lights in front of Buckingham Palace, got a bottle of mineral water from his stash in the boot of the car, and passed it to me to drink.  He then also passed me an unopened container of paracetamol after he had asked me if I had any and I said no I had forgotten to take some from home but was thinking of getting some a little bit later.  He left me at work, saying he hoped I would feel better soon and get through the day alright.

I should have taken his registration number so I could thank him properly- a poor excuse is that I was too ill, sleepy, and surprised by his generosity to think properly at the time.  Well, his gesture cheered me up and that probably lifted me out of the gloom of being ill and tired more than the paracetamol.  London can be full of pleasant surprises.

Going downhill again?

Its 2 months since the Olympics and Paralympics Games and there may be signs that the improved transport services that we saw during the Games may be moving into history as well.  In the last week, we have had problems on the Jubilee line that led to commuters having to take alternative routes to and from work, and less frequent (and therefore more crowded) services.  The buses that serve the Isle of Dogs, where I live, are less frequent or have been experiencing delays due to heavy traffic, and it has been impossible to get on buses in the morning because of the masses of school children who use the same services as working folk to get to school/work on time.  Even if one did get on a bus, they stopped prematurely and passengers were asked to get off and wait for the next bus to take them to their destinations.

On the road, there were delays going counterclockwise on the north circular during the day, and delays going clockwise during the evening: I lost over an hour stuck in traffic to get to a destination that would normally take me a little under an hour in total to get to and from.  All of these delays were more than what I experienced going into the City center during the Games- and I went fairly frequently as I attended a fair few events.  Is it acceptable for us to have to put up with this when we are trying to make a living?  I think not and it is disgraceful that we should be expected to when the eyes of the world are no longer on us.  It is not about showing others our best side, it should be about being the best so that our people can perform at their best rather than having to worry about silly incidentals that hamper them from their daily business.  This costs our businesses too and it is short sighted of those managing the City to not deal with the daily problems and only concentrate on these issues when they perceive that they are performing on the world stage.  In case they haven't noticed, we have to perform all day every day in our daily activities to compete on the world stage, not just through a one off sports competition. 

Post-Olympics calm

The Olympics and Paralympics have come and gone and London has settled back into the usual humdrum routines of daily life.  Only things don't seem to be exactly as they were before our rather exciting Summer.  I have just returned to work following a period of maternity leave and in the past month I have not encountered a single incident which affected my daily commute to and from work.  Perhaps this is the legacy from our Summer of sports.  If so, I am even more glad that we hosted the events and long may this effect continue.