I was waiting for a cross-town train in the London underground, when it struck me that I've been waiting since birth to find a love that would look and sound like a movie....well maybe not, but I was waiting for a cross-town train the London Underground today!
A Chronological Timetable of my Adventure To and From Cambridge:07:01 (GMT) - My alarm goes off
07:17 - Paul picks me up and drives me to Cowden Station (label 1. on the map)
07:29 - My train leaves Cowden
07:54 - I switch trains at Oxted Station (label 2. on the map)
08:32 - I arrive at London Victoria (label 3.), and switch to the London Underground, taking the Victoria Line to King's Cross (label 4.)
09:15 - I get off the underground at King's Cross and switch to my train to Cambridge (label 5.)
10:05 - I arrive at Cambridge station and find that all the taxi's are taken. I consult my map as well as the posted one and decide to walk, as I'm told the station is only about a 15 minute walk from the building that my course is in
11:02 - After getting lost and asking for directions TWICE, I manage to find the course and walk in, an hour late. The course is great however, and I meet another youth worker named Anthony (pronounced an-to-nee since he's english) who's in his 40's and from Tunbridge Wells. We exchange ideas and contact info, and he offers to give me a ride next time
16:03 - The course ends and I decide that rather than get lost again, I will take the bus shuttle to the train station in order to catch my 16:45 train
16:35 - I arrive at the bus station and find that the shuttle is packed to the brim and cannot take any more passengers. Me and another girl are told we have to wait for the next shuttle. This means I miss the 16:45. I think to myself that I probably shouldn't have spent so much time looking around HMV...
17:32 - I take the shuttle to the Cambridge station and hop on a train back to King's Cross
18:37 - This train is not an express, unlike the one to Cambridge, and it makes several stops on the way back. I arrive at King's Cross and take the tube back to Vicoria
19:23 - I am sitting on the train headed to East Grinstead, when suddenly I see a ton of security/medical personnel run past on the platform to my left. Over the next couple minutes, more people in uniforms run past, as well as a golf cart-turned-ambulance. An announcement is made to the whole Victoria station that an 'incident' has occured and that platforms 12-15 are closed until further notice. Additionally, I overhear a conversation between another passenger and an official who said that the driver of our train was a witness to whatever happened, so our train wouldn't be going anywhere any time soon. I'm told to take the next train to East Grinstead, the 19:53, from platform 18.
19:53 - Our train to East Grinstead leaves London Victoria
20:17 - An argument that occurs in our car (albeit the other half, so I didn't see any of it) escalates and becomes physical, so someone pulls the emergency stop cord which causes the train to come to a screeching halt in the middle of nowhere. The conductor and various security personnel proceed back and forth through our car to sort it all out
20:54 - The train starts moving again, however it is still a long way to Oxted, and the last connecting train to Cowden leaves at 21:04. We do not make it in time, so I decide to stay on until East Grinstead (label 6.) Even though this is technically illegal since my ticket says "Cowden," I figure that given the extreme circumstances, I could persuade anyone who hassles me about it
21:43 - My train arrives at East Grinstead station, and I call Hananja to come pick me up
22:32 - I return to Hartfield.
Did I mention that I was supposed to be back for Harvest Supper at 7:30pm (19:30)? Harvest Supper is this big community event that's organized by the church and happens in the village hall every year around this time. After I missed the shuttle to Cambridge station however, I pretty much wrote it off. It was all right anyhow, after doing a lot of walking around Cambridge and taking in information from my course, I was tired and not exactly looking forward to an evening full of more people. And while the train story may sound like an ordeal, it was an adventure, and I had some great fun with the people who were stuck in the same car. I wouldn't change a thing if I had to do it all over again to be honest. Also as a footnote, let me just say that Cambridge is beautiful...too beautiful for my small camera to contain. That being said, it's not exactly like I had a lot of time to take pictures...maybe next time I go (in a month or two) I'll see if I can spend an extra day and grab some shots for you folks. I will only be able to provide you with a glimpse of how wonderful it is, unfortunately. In other news, I'm moving on Monday and hopefully staying there for a longer stretch of time (a month or two). That means I should have a more permanent phone number for people who are interested in hearing my voice (rather than just reading this drivel). Speaking of drivel, I'll end it here.
