Southern: avoid

For the annual ramblings, please click here.

Over the last few days our limited patience with the Southern service on the little country line has been severely tested.  The line from our rural station has so much going for it, notably low prices and free parking, but we start to suspect that Southern's deplorable labour relations (and, sure, it takes two to tango) are wrecking it.  I was due to be in London on Monday, but cancelled because of the forecast heavy snow (which did not materialise - Michael Fish over-compensation, I suppose).  Re-arranging for Wednesday, the train I wanted was cancelled at the last minute, so Martyn had to schlepp me along to Disgustedville Central, whence it costs more, and later back.

Today we had another London date for a Historia trustees' meeting, so checked at regular intervals before we left for updates on the service.  The train up arrived smack on time, but the ticket machine at the station was u/s, and the guard did not come round.  Adding to a late arrival, we wasted still more time in the queue at the excess fares window at London Bridge.  (This gives me pause to reflect on days at the hobby devoted to fare dodging cases.)  We were thus a quarter of an hour late for our meeting.

The journey home was immeasurably worse.  Our last direct train to said rural station until after the rush hour was, in the space of three minutes, shown as 'on time', 'delayed' and 'cancelled', with conflicting announcements as to reasons.  So we'd instead to travel to Disgustedville (though the sympathetic ticket clerk, bless his wee heart, discounted our tickets by the price of those for the cancelled train).  On our arrival (whither we'd to stand all the way) there were no taxis, so we'd to take a bus to the nearest bus stop, only then realising that the path through the woods has no lighting.  We groped through by the light of my dying telephone.  Next we'd to fire up car 2 and drive to said little rural station to retrieve car 1.  As my Portuguese friends would say with a resigned shrug, paciência.

But it was useful and delightful as ever to spend some time with Kate, John and soon-to-be-ex-fellow-trustee Lindsay.  I have decided to step down as a trustee of the Historia Theatre company after about 15 years: I'll go once  the next annual update goes to the Charity Commission, probably in February.  Although I set up and maintained a rather basic web site, it is now hopelessly old-fashioned and cumbersome, and solutions are available that are far easier to use.  I was never much good at IT, and the passing of the years has left me behind.  Since that was my only significant input to the charity, it's time to hand over to someone with more up-to-date skills.