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- 09/11/2009: Cheeky villains
- 02/11/2009: The woes of a freelance journalist
- 27/10/2009: Roadworks
- 26/10/2009: In mortal danger
- 23/10/2009: Losing my memory, honesty and dishonesty
- 18/10/2009: Oldham loop
- 12/10/2009: Heathrow’s third runway
- 08/10/2009: The Times
- 08/10/2009: Written during David Cameron’s speech to the Conservative Conference
- 07/10/2009: Theresa Villiers
I was going to marvel at how great public transport was, paying as I did £2.90 to get to Manchester Airport from Littleborough on Wednesday afternoon and £1.50 to get back last night. To drive and park there overnight would have cost a fortune.
But there’s always a fly in the ointment. My flight from Gatwick was delayed so I missed the 20.20 train home at Victoria. Instead I got the 21.00 to Rochdale via Oldham, to be met by Mrs S at Milnrow. What a shambles!
There had been something on at the Arena and Northern, presumably with an eye to the approaching Metrolink take over of the line, are still running the dreaded Pacers.
So I’m sitting on a seat for two, which is only really big enough for one with my brief cased next to me while pairs of glammed up ladies are hogging all the three seats. After a while an old chap appears at my side and unpleasantly demands that I move up - and move my brief case.
Nobody wants to fight a pensioner so I move up and sits down, horribly close. “When I see people with bags on the seat, I deliberately sit on them,” he said, “hoping that there’s eggs inside!”
He pulled out a pass and said “There…disabled!” In the interests of harmony, I refrained from pointing out that, in that case, I was the only one who had paid for my ticket.
After that he wanted to be my best friend and inisted on telling me, over and over again, that “f…ing” Metrolink was never going to work on that line and by running it through Oldham town centre, people the other side of Oldham would just get longer journeys.
In actual fact I agree with him but it had been a long day so I just nodded assent, fearing that his remark meant he was, in fact, going to the other side of Oldham, as I was.
But no, to my relief, he actually got off at Hollinwood, wishing me all the best and a Merry Christmas!!!!!