Big Girls Big Weekend (Part One)
Nov. 24th, 2007 10:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
suzyscottdotcomLots of ideas start floating round my head, from time to time. One was that I wanted to take Caroline away for the weekend, and spoil her for the weekend – pretty much in the same way that she has done for me several times, without hesitation. Dates can slip and stuff, but there was something I wanted to do this weekend, so I had suggested earlier in the week that we made it this weekend. Short notice, but we made it. The plan was that we’d travel into London (45 miles by train) and stay the night at a hotel that I’d been to before, coming back on Sunday. As part of this, it was the first journey with my new Network Railcard, which is valid for up to four passengers for one-third off most tickets after 10am, around the former Network SouthEast area. This does also allow for discounts on PlusBus, some One Day Travelcards etc., within the designated area – I’d been meaning to get one for a while. The card is £20 for a year, and is sold to anyone of any age who does not qualify for a UK-wide railcard. Having said that, we saved £16.30 just with two Saver Returns from Royston to ‘London Terminals’ (Kings Cross), [full price £24.00 each, discounted to £15.85 each], and I don’t think it will take long to save the remainder! Caroline wanted to bring the car, but I wanted to truly spoil her – as well as meaning she didn’t have to drive, worry about London drivers, places to park, Red Routes, the North Circular Road on a Saturday afternoon a month before Christmas – you get the idea.
So, we left the flat, and walked the short distance to Royston station. The train in front was running a little late, due to the train in front of that running late… so the station was rather busy. I had a look on the departure boards, and although the stopping one was in more than twenty minutes down, the semi-fast train behind it was right on time… so we left everyone else to cram into the first train, and had plenty of room to stretch out on the one behind… which overtook the stopping train further up the line (why is it always UP to London? I know it’s a railway tradition, but in most cases, it is south to London…)
All the recently-extended ticket halls at Kings Cross were very busy with passengers buying tube tickets, so I left Caroline briefly to have a sit-down while I went for tickets and coffee. Saturdays & Sundays with a Network Card (or any railcard), a Z1-6 Travelcard is available for £4.80 (normal price £6.70), so two each for each day. Add £7.60 to the previous savings, and I’ve managed to save the cost of the card back, in the first twenty-four hours! The Northern Line took us to Bank, where we switched to the Docklands Light Railway system to Pontoon Dock. We were staying at the Etap Hotel in Silvertown (yes, within the budget for the weekend, just about it!), near City Airport. Last time I was here (early 2005 was it?), this part of the DLR was still under construction. Now, it’s fully operational. We got off at Pontoon Dock, down all the stairs, and walked to the hotel – about one bus stop away. Pontoon Dock is on the ‘King George V’ branch (after the name of the adjacent dock), which will, in due course, be extended under the Thames to Woolwich. After checking in shortly after the 1200 start time, we were given the code to Room 307 on the third floor (they all have pinpad entry points on the doors). We had a brief stop for half-an-hour or so, so Caroline could get her breath back, and have a quick nap. I popped out to the adjacent Esso filling station for coffee, tea (one each), and a hot baguette to share between the two of us. I wasn’t hugely hungry, but I could feel that something after a nap might be useful!
We left shortly afterwards, and walked to the bus stop on North Woolwich Road beside the Thames Barrier. Although we just missed a bus at the roundabout, we didn’t have long to wait. Service 474 has been extended since my last visit, now running between the flats at Canning Town [Hermit Road] and Manor Park Station [served by the One Railway Metro services out of Liverpool Street]. While Blue Triangle buses (the East Lancs bodied Volvo’s) still work the route, the service was swapped over at the beginning of the month – at the same time as the 474 went to a 24-hour bus route. BT have recently been taken over by the Go-Ahead group, who previously acquired Docklands Buses. The two are now under common ownership, and as the 474 passes close to Docklands Silvertown base, it is now operated from there, while the 368 works out of the former Blue Triangle base in Rainham. So, the ‘Blue Triangle’ fleetnames have been removed from the buses, but they still carry blue triangles in the blind box. The driver of the bus we were on soon after already had ‘Go-Ahead London’ uniforms, as did the others that were driving this route. We stayed on the bus to Canning Town Station.
This is where Transport for London’s publicity can sometimes be confusing. As part of the research for this trip, I printed a copy of the list of weekend engineering works from the TfL website, and it said, Jubilee Line would be suspended this weekend between Wembley Park and Stanmore. Having picked up a booklet from the rack in Kings Cross Station, it said this weekend there would be no Jubilee between Stratford and North Greenwich i.e. including Canning Town, but trains were moving around. The booklets get printed a bit in advance, which is why this appears to have been changed. We were travelling from Canning Town to Queensbury, so whichever end the diggers were at, it would still have bitten us! In any case, Caroline was impressed that I managed to get a through train… ‘Is that why you chose this hotel?’ i.e. no need to change trains in Central London! I was able to point out a few notable stops and stations as we went along, and Caroline was beginning to get sick of the ‘This train is for Willesden Green’ announcements. I did explain why they need to be duplicated (for the visually impaired who may be leaving, or have boarded, the train), but it still wound us up.
We got to Kilburn, and I explained to Caroline that we’d be swapping to the next train at the next stop. By the looks of things, every second train was being turned at WG, with the remainder going onto Wembley Park (combined to a rough four-minute service through Central London), So, as we pulled in, I was surprised that there was no announcement of the fact that the train was being turned, and indeed, a passenger boarded. The PA then came up with ‘All Change Please’… and then the doors closed off very quickly, and we sped off… with a blanked indicator. Now, we’d not been officially de-trained (the procedure in place on the tube to ensure no passengers end up where they should not be), so I took it that the train operator had been instructed to continue in service. The sidings at WG had a train in them, so presumably that was why the continuation was needed. The PA had been sort-of turned off, as there had been no further announcements, apart from ‘This train is terminating at Willesden Green’, long after we’d passed it. Presumably the train op had been told one thing, and then the line controller decided otherwise – a frequent occurrence.
We arrived at Wembley Park, for the rail-replacement-bus to continue our journey. No signs in place, so I had to ask a staff member. In my day, they were called Station Assistants, but I think it’s Customer Service Assistant now. (We’re only talking six years ago here). Anyway, we were pointed out the side entrance, where most of the grid gates had been closed off. A short walk up the road, and we could see Metroline were running the service. VPL591 sounded a little grumpy to start, but it did, and we were allowed to pile on.
We reached Queensbury, and got off for another service. This was a special service by Ensignbus to/from the LOTS Sale at the Harrow Leisure Centre (or, Autumn Transport Spectacular to give it the full title). The station was being served in two directions (I later realised), but it was a cold wind to stand around in. The first bus to come by was RT3871, and this was an interesting site being driven around north-west London in the late-autumn-early-winter. Caroline slightly showed her age by pointing out she remembers when these ran in Dundee (and, without too much tech knowledge, she’s right… as I’ve got a pic somewhere of a stack of them at Dock Street, when they arrived in London Country dark green. Those were largely Cravens bodied ‘roofbox’ examples, and before my time).
We did make it in time for the last bit of the sale, and although I’d decided to restrict myself, I was being encouraged by C to take my time, and have a look around. A few of the new publications were purchased (get them while they are new, as it saves extra costs and hassles later), and a few more years worth of back issue TLB’s (to fill in a chunk of the gap in the collection) for £5 each – although I picked up two for £7.50. I restrict myself with models, otherwise I could buy quite a bit – usually to either London/South East stuff, some Scottish stuff, or otherwise connected (somehow). London is usually more modern, more of ‘my time’, and depending on what I want. Travel West Midlands (parent company of Travel Dundee) Leyland Lynx model for £7.99 with 10% off, this too was rounded down to £7. At the next stall, Ensignbus Leyland National for a fiver (not bad), and a Grey-Green Dart/Plaxton for £8. A few other bits and pieces, and I just scraped over the ‘allocation’ of cash for this part of the trip!
While a DMS double decker was outside on the last free bus back to Colindale and Queensbury, we left this to go towards central Harrow on the H10 Circular (now H9 in the opposite direction). It was about 1540 when we left the event (just after closing time) so it was starting to get dark. Plans were that I’d get a couple of things here, and then we’d travel back via the Met & Jub lines back to the hotel, then go out for dinner. Well, when we got into Harrow, I noticed a branch of the chain that I was intending to visit… so I wondered!
As we walked towards the St George’s Centre, Caroline mentioned the possibility of a cinema in the area. Very conveniently, there was one in the centre. I then suggested one or two purchases here, then we go for dinner here (as opposed to the east London branches that I’d researched earlier), and then go see a movie afterwards? She was quite happy to do so, if there was anything on worth watching. Some more A5 ring binders from Partners stationers, and a visit to Boots for a few things (think my hair is demanding a new shampoo so much it’s rebelling!). We then had a look in the adjacent Vue Cinema, and I spotted something worth coming back for – something we’d planned to see a few weeks ago, but we didn’t go out that day).
The plot thickened slightly around 1650 when we walked back along College Road, and I had a quick stop in Ryman’s for some more of the A5 lever arch files. This had to be done with Caroline in tow, because the location for the planned dinner stop was right next door (remember I said we passed here on the bus?) Well, we had dinner at Pizza Express - which was rather nice. While I knew I could finish an American (pepperoni – their bases are very thin, but tasty with it), Caroline opted for the American Hot, with added jalapenos! It also gave Caroline the chance to have something a little stronger to accompany the meal, and we both managed a desert before I finished off with a coffee.
We left about 1755, in time for the movie starting a few minutes later. This had been recommended by Caroline’s ex, who had seen the movie in her native Germany. The mind boggled at the thought of the American Disney movie, with French accents but speaking in English… but it was rather good. Ratatouille proves that ‘anyone can cook’ – even animals! Some of the scenes did have the pair of us in stitches, as well as a few really touching moments too. Afterwards (about 2015ish), the audience spilled into the streets of Harrow, and we crossed the bus station to the adjacent Harrow-on-the-Hill Metropolitan line tube station.
To take the fullest advantage of the limited-stop nature of the Met line (Met & Jub run parallel for quite a bit), we took the first Metropolitan line train to Finchley Road, and crossed over there to a Jub line train to Canning Town. That part of the trip went smoothly, and TL920 on the 474 took us back to the hotel, getting back in for 2130ish. Time for a shower-dilate-douche trick for me, before bed for the both of us.
(Retro-blogged the next day).
So, we left the flat, and walked the short distance to Royston station. The train in front was running a little late, due to the train in front of that running late… so the station was rather busy. I had a look on the departure boards, and although the stopping one was in more than twenty minutes down, the semi-fast train behind it was right on time… so we left everyone else to cram into the first train, and had plenty of room to stretch out on the one behind… which overtook the stopping train further up the line (why is it always UP to London? I know it’s a railway tradition, but in most cases, it is south to London…)
All the recently-extended ticket halls at Kings Cross were very busy with passengers buying tube tickets, so I left Caroline briefly to have a sit-down while I went for tickets and coffee. Saturdays & Sundays with a Network Card (or any railcard), a Z1-6 Travelcard is available for £4.80 (normal price £6.70), so two each for each day. Add £7.60 to the previous savings, and I’ve managed to save the cost of the card back, in the first twenty-four hours! The Northern Line took us to Bank, where we switched to the Docklands Light Railway system to Pontoon Dock. We were staying at the Etap Hotel in Silvertown (yes, within the budget for the weekend, just about it!), near City Airport. Last time I was here (early 2005 was it?), this part of the DLR was still under construction. Now, it’s fully operational. We got off at Pontoon Dock, down all the stairs, and walked to the hotel – about one bus stop away. Pontoon Dock is on the ‘King George V’ branch (after the name of the adjacent dock), which will, in due course, be extended under the Thames to Woolwich. After checking in shortly after the 1200 start time, we were given the code to Room 307 on the third floor (they all have pinpad entry points on the doors). We had a brief stop for half-an-hour or so, so Caroline could get her breath back, and have a quick nap. I popped out to the adjacent Esso filling station for coffee, tea (one each), and a hot baguette to share between the two of us. I wasn’t hugely hungry, but I could feel that something after a nap might be useful!
We left shortly afterwards, and walked to the bus stop on North Woolwich Road beside the Thames Barrier. Although we just missed a bus at the roundabout, we didn’t have long to wait. Service 474 has been extended since my last visit, now running between the flats at Canning Town [Hermit Road] and Manor Park Station [served by the One Railway Metro services out of Liverpool Street]. While Blue Triangle buses (the East Lancs bodied Volvo’s) still work the route, the service was swapped over at the beginning of the month – at the same time as the 474 went to a 24-hour bus route. BT have recently been taken over by the Go-Ahead group, who previously acquired Docklands Buses. The two are now under common ownership, and as the 474 passes close to Docklands Silvertown base, it is now operated from there, while the 368 works out of the former Blue Triangle base in Rainham. So, the ‘Blue Triangle’ fleetnames have been removed from the buses, but they still carry blue triangles in the blind box. The driver of the bus we were on soon after already had ‘Go-Ahead London’ uniforms, as did the others that were driving this route. We stayed on the bus to Canning Town Station.
This is where Transport for London’s publicity can sometimes be confusing. As part of the research for this trip, I printed a copy of the list of weekend engineering works from the TfL website, and it said, Jubilee Line would be suspended this weekend between Wembley Park and Stanmore. Having picked up a booklet from the rack in Kings Cross Station, it said this weekend there would be no Jubilee between Stratford and North Greenwich i.e. including Canning Town, but trains were moving around. The booklets get printed a bit in advance, which is why this appears to have been changed. We were travelling from Canning Town to Queensbury, so whichever end the diggers were at, it would still have bitten us! In any case, Caroline was impressed that I managed to get a through train… ‘Is that why you chose this hotel?’ i.e. no need to change trains in Central London! I was able to point out a few notable stops and stations as we went along, and Caroline was beginning to get sick of the ‘This train is for Willesden Green’ announcements. I did explain why they need to be duplicated (for the visually impaired who may be leaving, or have boarded, the train), but it still wound us up.
We got to Kilburn, and I explained to Caroline that we’d be swapping to the next train at the next stop. By the looks of things, every second train was being turned at WG, with the remainder going onto Wembley Park (combined to a rough four-minute service through Central London), So, as we pulled in, I was surprised that there was no announcement of the fact that the train was being turned, and indeed, a passenger boarded. The PA then came up with ‘All Change Please’… and then the doors closed off very quickly, and we sped off… with a blanked indicator. Now, we’d not been officially de-trained (the procedure in place on the tube to ensure no passengers end up where they should not be), so I took it that the train operator had been instructed to continue in service. The sidings at WG had a train in them, so presumably that was why the continuation was needed. The PA had been sort-of turned off, as there had been no further announcements, apart from ‘This train is terminating at Willesden Green’, long after we’d passed it. Presumably the train op had been told one thing, and then the line controller decided otherwise – a frequent occurrence.
We arrived at Wembley Park, for the rail-replacement-bus to continue our journey. No signs in place, so I had to ask a staff member. In my day, they were called Station Assistants, but I think it’s Customer Service Assistant now. (We’re only talking six years ago here). Anyway, we were pointed out the side entrance, where most of the grid gates had been closed off. A short walk up the road, and we could see Metroline were running the service. VPL591 sounded a little grumpy to start, but it did, and we were allowed to pile on.
We reached Queensbury, and got off for another service. This was a special service by Ensignbus to/from the LOTS Sale at the Harrow Leisure Centre (or, Autumn Transport Spectacular to give it the full title). The station was being served in two directions (I later realised), but it was a cold wind to stand around in. The first bus to come by was RT3871, and this was an interesting site being driven around north-west London in the late-autumn-early-winter. Caroline slightly showed her age by pointing out she remembers when these ran in Dundee (and, without too much tech knowledge, she’s right… as I’ve got a pic somewhere of a stack of them at Dock Street, when they arrived in London Country dark green. Those were largely Cravens bodied ‘roofbox’ examples, and before my time).
We did make it in time for the last bit of the sale, and although I’d decided to restrict myself, I was being encouraged by C to take my time, and have a look around. A few of the new publications were purchased (get them while they are new, as it saves extra costs and hassles later), and a few more years worth of back issue TLB’s (to fill in a chunk of the gap in the collection) for £5 each – although I picked up two for £7.50. I restrict myself with models, otherwise I could buy quite a bit – usually to either London/South East stuff, some Scottish stuff, or otherwise connected (somehow). London is usually more modern, more of ‘my time’, and depending on what I want. Travel West Midlands (parent company of Travel Dundee) Leyland Lynx model for £7.99 with 10% off, this too was rounded down to £7. At the next stall, Ensignbus Leyland National for a fiver (not bad), and a Grey-Green Dart/Plaxton for £8. A few other bits and pieces, and I just scraped over the ‘allocation’ of cash for this part of the trip!
While a DMS double decker was outside on the last free bus back to Colindale and Queensbury, we left this to go towards central Harrow on the H10 Circular (now H9 in the opposite direction). It was about 1540 when we left the event (just after closing time) so it was starting to get dark. Plans were that I’d get a couple of things here, and then we’d travel back via the Met & Jub lines back to the hotel, then go out for dinner. Well, when we got into Harrow, I noticed a branch of the chain that I was intending to visit… so I wondered!
As we walked towards the St George’s Centre, Caroline mentioned the possibility of a cinema in the area. Very conveniently, there was one in the centre. I then suggested one or two purchases here, then we go for dinner here (as opposed to the east London branches that I’d researched earlier), and then go see a movie afterwards? She was quite happy to do so, if there was anything on worth watching. Some more A5 ring binders from Partners stationers, and a visit to Boots for a few things (think my hair is demanding a new shampoo so much it’s rebelling!). We then had a look in the adjacent Vue Cinema, and I spotted something worth coming back for – something we’d planned to see a few weeks ago, but we didn’t go out that day).
The plot thickened slightly around 1650 when we walked back along College Road, and I had a quick stop in Ryman’s for some more of the A5 lever arch files. This had to be done with Caroline in tow, because the location for the planned dinner stop was right next door (remember I said we passed here on the bus?) Well, we had dinner at Pizza Express - which was rather nice. While I knew I could finish an American (pepperoni – their bases are very thin, but tasty with it), Caroline opted for the American Hot, with added jalapenos! It also gave Caroline the chance to have something a little stronger to accompany the meal, and we both managed a desert before I finished off with a coffee.
We left about 1755, in time for the movie starting a few minutes later. This had been recommended by Caroline’s ex, who had seen the movie in her native Germany. The mind boggled at the thought of the American Disney movie, with French accents but speaking in English… but it was rather good. Ratatouille proves that ‘anyone can cook’ – even animals! Some of the scenes did have the pair of us in stitches, as well as a few really touching moments too. Afterwards (about 2015ish), the audience spilled into the streets of Harrow, and we crossed the bus station to the adjacent Harrow-on-the-Hill Metropolitan line tube station.
To take the fullest advantage of the limited-stop nature of the Met line (Met & Jub run parallel for quite a bit), we took the first Metropolitan line train to Finchley Road, and crossed over there to a Jub line train to Canning Town. That part of the trip went smoothly, and TL920 on the 474 took us back to the hotel, getting back in for 2130ish. Time for a shower-dilate-douche trick for me, before bed for the both of us.
(Retro-blogged the next day).
