The train leaving platform two

[happy daze john in oz]

On my recent trip to Europe this year I planned to meet with my sister who lives in Eat Grimstead , Sussex and together we could travel to Dartford Kent to meet with my 93 year old great uncle. Quite simple when you think about it.

To meet my sisters requires that we travel from Victoria Station London to a station near by to her, from there to Dartford. To facilitate this I decided to purchase the tickets in advance on line via Southern Rail.

So simple, a few clicks and there they were all ready for use in June.

During the cruise I received notification from m sister that the date selected was now no convenient, apparently the female of the species has the right to change their minds more often than they change their knickers. Something abut the best laid plans of mice and men flashed across my mind.

On arrival in London I ventured to Victoria station in the hope could change the tickets.

On the fore court a man wearing vest with the wording 'May I help you'?

'G'day mate I have some tickets I wish to change'

'Sorry sir but as you purchased them on line you will need to go back to the on line company to do that.

'Can I do that here in London'?

'No sir only in the original country of purchase'
What an odd system!

We eventually travelled from Waterloo to Dartford and saw my great uncle.

Returning home to Oz I downloaded the form requesting a refund and along with the ticket to Southern Rail in Ashby-de-la- Zouch.

What a wonderful name for a town, it conjours up images of medieval times, nights resplendent in their armor astride their trusty seed, jousting their lances protruding like some giant phallic symbol. But I digress.

Some ten days late an e-mal arrived informing me that my claim would be dealt with in due course. Expectant mothers give birth in due course, looks as if I am in for a long wait.

We move forward to October 17th and still no reply from my correspondence of July. So I write again explaining the matter n great detail.

Friday October 23rd I receive a letter posed in Malmo Sweden. I know n one in Sweden. The flooding back, memories of a knee trembler in 64, though knee shiver may be a better description, the first wee of December in Lulea can be bloody cold. Stories of unknown relatives arriving from a dark and distant past can alarming.

But no, this was from Southern Rail. I had no understanding of just how far Southern Rail stretched ho o they cross the North sea, is there a giant bridge or a tunnel?

Dated September29th it began, 'Thank you for your letter of September 14th

What letter from September, I wrote initially in July. Then I remembered that the post office is mentioned in the Bible, 'And God made all slow moving things'.

Thank you for your letter, if you care to down load a copy of your ticket purchase and forward to his office I will deal with it in due course. Not another blood pregnancy!

So dutifully I did a requested and now await with baited breath

[Doc Vernon]

What a bleedin palava John
But yes I have heard about cases like that and it seems rather odd that one has to go through so many channels to get a refund ! Sometimes this online buying for travel in other Countries can be a real pain in the rear!
Hope that you soon will get some relief from those pregnancies! lol
Cheers


The train leaving platform two

Sounds like a good Agatha Christie Novel!

[j.sabourn]

One of the slowest and longest re time devouring journeys I can remember courtesy of British rail was in the 50"s when having to join a ship in any of the Bristol Channel ports from Newcastle. As far as Gloucester wasn't too bad apart from the great long footbridge one had to cross with all your seabags etc. Then it was the slow boat to China, stopping at every little station with the newspapers and bottles of milk. Hope it is a bit faster these days. JS

[cappy]

###paying off in falmouth in the afternoon after 10 months at 4 in the afternoon.....a couple of beers and the train about seven to kings x.....all night every station plus some that werent there .....waiting in kings x for a train that will take your warrant to newcastle....then atrain to shields arriving about 3 in the afternoon......but what a great feeling pulling into shields ....happy days with money ways .....regards cappy

[j.sabourn]

#4... Did you have to show your passport going over the Tyne Bridge. Cheers JS

[cappy]

#4... Did you have to show your passport going over the Tyne Bridge. Cheers JS

only on the north side.....in the jungle or the ballarat......have you ever heard of i think it is pronounced fifty fafty .....they rollled and murdered seaman ...and slung them in the tyne but sadlydid there own son who had been away many many years or similar....cappy

[John Albert Evans]

John,

Ref #1. I bet the second you pressed the enter key on your comp to buy the tickets your money was taken out of your bank account. It's a pity they wont do the same when you ask for a refund.

John.

PS Good luck and let us know if you ever get it back.

[j.sabourn]

#6... Never heard of that one Cappy. Always stuck with the Shaftoes, liked the name,also had that much brass stuck it on their knee. Cheers JS

[Braid Anderson]

The title caught my eye because, for the first time in ages I was doing some work on my model railway. Changing the station from a terminus to a through station, hence construction of a new platform two. So far the layout is only 12ft by 2ft, but will eventually take up 24ft by 5' 8" of the verandah. If I ever have the money for the necessary 2" x 1" timber and 9mm ply. I have had everything else for many years. The new platform is okay - it's just cardboard and paper. Cardboard is free flat-packed boxes from the village shop. Stonework is grey, printed out from the computer, and grey because I can't afford a colour ink cartridge. But there was a lot of grey stonework in the area where my station is supposedly located.

[Frederick Lacey]

John, I think in so many words that you are flogging a dead horse, these things are all pre-planned, they think of
many ways to obstruct you getting money back, even on the phone you get passed from dept to dept and office to office,
in the hope that you give up and say s*d it, that way you lose and they gain, although they will lose a customer for the
future. F.