Flipping traffic - just moan really!

Hope you get home soon, kittylester - it sounds awful. I know that Bamburgh is not on the railway, so you don't have the option, but I never understand people who say that they don't travel by train as the trains are always late. They aren't, but if there is a delay, it's someone else's problem to get it sorted out and there is usually a choice of functioning toilets.

Good luck!

I use trains too - always on time! But too crowded.

I always travel by train to visit my two sons' families. There are rarely any delays, but last time, something slowed us down between Coventry and Birmingham and I missed my connection at Macclesfield. Fingers crossed for better luck on Monday. Kitty, I hope you are closer to home by now. That sounds like a long slow crawl.

This might be one reason people choose to go by car and not by train. Can anybody tell me why.....
I was quoted £19.85 for an (off peak) single using my Senior Railcard from Birmingham back to MK this week when by purchasing an unwanted Advance single to Birmingham for yesterday morning AS WELL for £3.00 , I could buy a ticket for the same off peak Birmingham - MK service for £9.85? In both cases my Birmingham -MK ticket was a standard Virgin Off peak at 15.10.
Do I need an Economics degree to work out the best price for a fare or do I think blow it, I'll go by car?

Alea, were you the victim of a real-life A-level maths question?

alea the answer to your why is, it's because the rail fare pricing system is an unholy cock-up and no one understands it, including the people who make it up set the prices.

Beginning to wonder, but how stupid is it to have a £10 difference in price for the same ticket and the same train? Admittedly I "wasted" £3 on the advance outward leg as I went up with DD and the children who had been down to see us for the day, but from now on I will definitely never accept the first price quoted for any ticket.

Train fares have become so complicated.The days when you just breezed into a station, waited your turn, and stated destination/bought a ticket are long gone: what you have is a huge difference in fares to the same destination, but according to whether or not you have booked ahead and paid with a credit card, are going at peak/off peak times, a quiet day/busy day, or if the month has an R in it, single, return etc, you don't know if you are coming or going and need a lie down. When you actually board the train, chances are that there will be no seats anyway.

Spot on rosesarered.We have just tried to buy tickets for Oban with a stopover at Carlisle. Absolute nightmare !We were told to come back when Peter was on duty because he understood these things better !

Blimey; usually takes us 3 1/2 hours [although not sure how bad the traffic works round Newcastle are at the moment].

We have just arrived home from a short break in Suffolk. We live in Berkshire. The sat nav offered an alternative route to save us from "heavy traffic". Took us right through the centre of London! Traffick doesn't get heavier! Was very interesting though.

You don't spell it with a 'k' do you?

No you spell it eye tee

Oh - funny !!!

Sorry; there seem to have been a lot of programmes on the telly about Constantinople recently[ which I've realised I can't actually spell , and every time they mention it I think back to that old schooldays joke...

Wasn't it "Constantinople is a very long word. Can you spell it backwards?" So you were wrong, tegan.

I wonder whether kittys made it home yet?

The loo situation must be desperate if not!

My dad always used to say it like Tegan. It depends how you were brought up, Elegran.

We got home at 7pm so had been on the road for eight hours with one loo stop. We had ordered a take away curry and revelled in being in our own home at last! There were road works everywhere Tegan and the rain didn't help!

'Constantinople is a very long word. If you can't spell it you're a dunce.'

That's how we said it.

Glad you made it home in the end kitty.

It always takes me a night's sleep and a breakfast before I start to feel glad to be back in our own home. But I guess relief would have played a big part in your situation kitty.

The phrase was like Tegan and dj said it, for us.

We used to say "Constantinople is a very long word. I bet you can't spell it."

Hurrah for takeaways and wine, is what I say Kitty.