Holidays and The British

According to Thomas Cook in the UK, some holidaymakers are just never satisfied. Here are the top ten most bizarre and
genuine customer complaints received by the firm in recent years:

1 On my holiday to Goa in India, I was disgusted to find that almost every restaurant served curry. I don't like spicy
food at all.

2 The beach was too sandy.

3 I bought a snorkel and swimming mask for my six-year-old son, but he was too upset to use them as the fish frightened
him.

4 It rained on my birthday.

5 Topless sunbathing on the beach should be banned. The holiday was ruined as my husband spent all day looking at other
women.

6 I think it should be explained in the brochure that the local store does not sell proper biscuits like custard creams
or ginger nuts.

7 It's lazy of the local shopkeepers to close in the afternoons. I often needed to buy things during 'siesta' time -
this should be banned.

8 We bought 'Ray-Ban' sunglasses for five euros (£3.50) from a street trader, only to find out they were fake.

9 None of the hotel staff was English, and the tea didn't taste the same as at home.

10 I would like to complain about the price of alcohol in the resort. It was too cheap and I woke with a hangover every
day.

My day yesterday

( Cut for descriptions of a long day of travelling around, being recognised in Peterborough, defrosted food, and good vibrations... )

For cardmarkers everywhere

I found various bits and pieces for sale for cardmarkers in March, including these! I think the middle one (the pliers) would be an ideal adornment for a 'Happy New Vagina' post-GRS congrats card... another hole in the market... this seems to be the closest I've seen to boltcutters yet... apologies for the shake...

Today so far (Wednesday 7th)

It's been a busy, positive day, as the weather stays good and everyone remains happy! Caroline's second new long black dress has arrived (remember when the first one of two arrived?), I got a copy of the new May edition of the West Lothian area bus & train timetable (as well as catching up with requests for some other leaflets and stuff),  but Caroline was surprised to see a letter from Spain, with a stamped envelope, addressed to her former male clone, personally. Turns out it was her first Spanish lottery '419' type scam - well, first one on paper at least!

Megabus - on tour in NY ?

While browsing the Stagecoach group website for other reasons (in the midst of preparing for a forthcoming ABF trip, and I needed a logo to go on the notes, as they’ve supplied the bus!) I did come upon a press release about the virtues of Megabus.com in the US - and apparently (although not mentioned), there has been some kind of competition with the First/Laidlaw operation and Stagecoach (CoachUSA/Megabus) – not that I’d know such things so intimately.

The press release made mention of new services based on NY State, with some place names that sounded familiar from chats online. So, interestingly enough, a new service by Megabus (USA) is about to be introduced (On May 30th) from New York (Penn Station), via Buffalo NY (Niagara International Airport) to Toronto, Canada (Royal York Hotel). The service between NY and Buffalo is around seven hours (around what Amtrak trains take to get to Rochester), while between Buffalo and Toronto is two and a half hours. (I’ve not investigated time zones yet, but that trip should be straight enough).

Now, a couple of points here. Firstly, I’m fairly sure I did an April 1st spoof a few years ago, of a new Megabus service from Dundee to NY (it sounded like a good get-away-from-it-all at the time…), so I have to say, be careful what you wish for, or there maybe a chance of through ticketing one of these days!

Second, there was a person who I’ve known online for five and a half years now, and has been consistently solid and wonderfully supportive to me. I did say I’d consider visiting in a few years, back in late 2006 - according to Google Maps, it’s about 55 miles from Buffalo to Spencerport/Rochester.

You can tell what I’m thinking. Give it a couple of years (from now), who knows. Having said that, I guess it’s another one of these ‘brand recognition’ things – I don’t know who is who over there (so much – Amtrak, Greyhound etc.) but I do know the megabus brand well enough. Saves investigating who, what and where, if it’s a concept I already know. Wonder if they can send a text from the USA system with a ticket code to a UK phone? If not, no hassle, I can scribble it down or print it off. Then, there are the rest of the operators and their procedures etc. that I hear sporadically about. Coming from 4,000 miles away, a slightly easier default option maybe nice.

I doubt that was the intention of product recognition behind having the same brand name on both sides of the pond. Having said that, I’ve just done a price check for those journeys in September (to get the timing information, as the ‘schedule’ – we call them timetables over here - isn't there yet), and they are USD $1.00 each. Yes, looks like I’ve still got the touch. At the current rate of exchange, even with booking fees, that’s less than the local fare within Royston town on Stagecoach 26!

BTW, as I read the press release, Neneh Cherry’s Buffalo Stance was going through my head. When I googled the song, I was surprised to find Westlife have covered it. Is nothing sacred?