Getting Home


This story is not an exaggeration ….for sure…it’s all pretty true 
Honestly …..for sure 
The plane journey from Inverness to Manchester Airport  was a delight…..though our single steward was a moody bastard.
I was off the plane first and literally 7 minutes later was walking down to the train platforms where various  uninterested staff shouted over that all the trains into Manchester had been cancelled because of an “ incident” 
All passengers were directed onto a unknown quantity of a Manchester tram system.
It was chaos for only a handful of people knew what to do.
Hundreds of people crammed onto the handful of trams .

I knew I needed to be at Piccadilly so rang my friend Nigel in nearby Stockport for help .
He told me where to go which was completely different to what a very loud young mother with a baby in a pram was telling everyone . She wanted to go to Preston eventually and had a big following to keep on to Victoria because she was confident and loud….she went on to Said stop  , where as I, following  Nigel’s advice  jumped off at Market Street
It was like a disaster movie 
Me and a young, sturdy legged student physio from Helsby led the charge. An Asian chap from Chester who kept saying that he was taking Tuesday off sick followed with  , a retired professor from Bangor ( who had just been to Nice with her daughter ) they were then followed a couple of trendy tattooed girls who knew where they were going followed by an old rather bemused and a bit tipsy couple from Cheshire with too much baggage. 
And we galloped across central Manchester for Piccadilly
It was obvious that the old couple was slowing us up , so the trendy girls and Asian chap took control of their luggage and as a group we managed to get to Piccadilly with 12 minutes to spare.
Piccadilly was in chaos 
But eventually the unnamed physio,  Bangor Prof Caroline, The Asian chap ( who I found out was called Sidharth ) and Hilary and Howard from Frodsham who was still helped by one unknown trendy gal with tattoos all made it more or less home .
What fun lol
People come up trumps when needed

Don’t they ?




59 comments:

  1. Nothing beats a travel catastrophe where everyone pulls together. Barb

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  2. Glad you got home in one piece. Bless all the intrepid travelers nowadays. I stay home. The furrbabies were glad to see you, I'm sure.

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    1. Yes they were glad, both are lying on me as I type

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  3. Sounds like a grand adventure, John. Yes, often they do come though. Often enough to trust.

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  4. I think a large G&T is called for after that. The peace and tranquillity of Findhorn has been well and truly shattered! xx

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    1. Just googled it. Apparently a passenger was taken ill, which caused hour long delays/cancellations. Don't know what the illness was, but presumably something serious. Hope they're OK. xx

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    2. Yes , thank you hooker….there was some talk about a long wait for an ambulance

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  5. They don't seem to understand what chaos they cause when there's a leaf on the line, or they strike because their whistle is too heavy. I know the top photo, but not the bottom one; I'm showing my age.

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    1. That would be the movie, The Poseidon Adventure.
      Barb

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    2. What is the top photo I don't recognize it .

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    3. The lady vanishes ( on a train)

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  6. That was certainly an interesting trip home. I bet you were ready for a drink and bed by the time you got home!

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    1. I had a massive gin and fell asleep on the couch

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  7. It always amazes me that human can be completely stand offish one moment and the next moment; in a time of crisis, or semi crisis come together for the greater good. A bit all for one and one for all.... it's great to be part of the human race. Glad you made it home hopefully to a bevvy of furry kisses and a well deserved G and T.

    Jo in Auckland

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    1. Good point jo
      It’s all about the shared experience

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  8. Human(s) tsk.

    Jo in Auckland

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  9. We all need a Nigel sometimes.

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    1. He’s one that I would always turn to

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  10. Love your descriptions of all the people - worthy of a good book I reckon. You'll have more time for writing once you semi retire....we are all waiting for your biography!

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    1. As you are suggesting a biography Sue perhaps you would like to write it.

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    2. Oh sue, it’s not been an interesting life , believe me
      I would have thought Tom’s and Rachel’s biography would be a cracking read

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  11. And they all look so familiar! (Although I thought most of them were dead.)

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  12. At least you all spoke English. I had something like this happen to me travelling alone in Germany and not speaking a word of German and having no clue as to where I was or what was happening.

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    1. Indeed I felt sorry for many french and Spanish at the airport who were trying to find out what to do, we were all in the same boat

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  13. I love it when strangers pull together. Glad you made it home safely.

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    1. It was all a bit the spirit that won the war

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  14. You'll have to go back to Findhorn to recuperate after all that! Now it is back to life, back to reality! :)

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    1. Well I do have three days off then I’m off to Rome

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  15. Being from Manchester and having worked for years in the city centre I can just picture you all hot-tailing it across the streets. It's something worthy of a comedy sketch, what a fun and exhilarating end to your little break, but I bet it just felt a bit stressful at the time.

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    1. And the funny thing was that many of us could have worked things out being being on the tram system which only city people know, we were scuppered

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  16. You won't forget that journey in a hurry!

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  17. Sometimes the journey is as interesting as the adventure

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    1. Both were somewhat irritating but if it wasn’t for the delay going, I wouldn’t have seen that beautiful northern sky

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  18. All's well that ends well.

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    1. It was nice 5o have a lie in this morning

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  19. Oh, Lord. That all sounds like way too much excitement.

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  20. And you went for peace and quiet!

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    1. Yes, the irony of which isn’t lost on this blog entry x

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  21. Trains are not built for disruption. Havoc pursues. Luckily you found a nice group to ban together and work through the chaos. Good job!

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    1. The British especially seem to enjoy these kind of ww2 situations

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  22. Glad it worked out and everyone got home safely! You made it sound like fun!

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    1. Arhhh the product of a storytelling mind

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  23. Wow, this sure sounds like an adventure! I wonder what the incident was that caused the train not to run??

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    1. Someone had been caught seriously unwell on one of the trains on the Blackpool line and they were waiting for the emergency services

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  24. What time was all this? My son was working at their Manchester office, and could have brought you back as far as Birkenhead Conway Street for a train to Prestatyn! X

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    1. I got into the airport at 7pm.

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    2. If only you'd known in advance, he could have waited for you, he left the office at 6-30!

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  25. This blog post is living proof that, "There's got to be a morning after!" (Poseidon Adventure Rules!!!)

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    1. If we can hold on through the night x

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  26. I would have liked to see some pictures of that crew. Sounds like an interesting mix.

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  27. I love a good adventure..and friendly folk to boot. How wonderful.

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  28. Brilliant! I love how everyone pulled together and how it had a happy ending too.

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