First class from First Scotrail

Yesterday was quite an eventuful day.

I was due to be going to Praise Gathering in Glasgow with Donald, Alan and my mum last night.

We met Donald outside his work and then walked to Haymarket despite the fact it was over 20 metres and I insisted that that clearly meant we should get a taxi (I didn't really but thought it'd make a good Bebo comment).

We got my Mum off her train and then went up a flight of stairs to go down a flight of stairs to get to the platform we needed to get our train on. I momentarily considered seeing if I could make the leap over two sets of tracks but then thought better of it.

The journey was going fine and we were chatting and eating our packed tea of sandwiches (made by my good self), cheetos, strawberries, pineapple, apple & blackcurrant smoothie and jaffa cakes... the train came to a stand-still outside Glasgow and we sat there for a long long time before the conductor announced that the trains were backed up due to flooding in the Queen's Street Tunnel and he'd update us in ten minutes. Fifteen minutes later he came back online and announced there'd been a landslide (no, John was NOT in Glasgow before you ask!) and that trains wouldn't be able to get into Glasgow and he'd update us in a while. After what must have been a while, he came back on and said that we'd be going to Springburn station where we'd switch to an electric service that'd take us into Queen Street... I thought that'd be a great solution as electric trains are obviously much better when the tracks are flooded. Anyway, he came on a while later and said that we were still going to Springburn where we would be terminated (arghhhhh!). He said if we wanted to find out more then speak to the station manager.

We got off the train at Springburn and it came over the tannoy that people should make their way up to the main road where there were waiting taxis to take everyone to Glasgow Queen Street which Scotrail would pay for. We walked up the many steps out of Springburn Station (which was fine as far as I was concered but what if there had been someone in a wheelchair or unable to climb lots of steps on the train?) only to discover there was one taxi and over 100 people wishing to get in it. I saw a slight logistical problem. Everyone pushed and shoved to get in the taxi which resulted in five people gettin in it and going away and then no other taxis showed up. Donald flagged down another taxi and got himself in it and several other people shoved their way in after him but he turfed them out and said it wasn't a Scotrail one and we were paying for it. We then got in but another guy who hadn't understood Donald got in beside us and the taxi headed off. We were a bit down the road and Donald asked the guy where he was going... he said he was going to Queen Street. We told him he wasn't. We asked the taxi driver if it was on the way and he said it wasn't so the guy got out of the taxi part way along the journey to find his own way.

We were driving along towards the City Hall where Praise Gathering was happening and we were now about an hour later than we'd expected to arrive and we drove straight past Glasgow Queen Street Station (where the driver had said we weren't going near). We were able to see a huge queue of taxis sitting at the rank not getting any fares... whilst there were a whole load of people at Springburn not getting any taxis. We were able to sense a slight break-down in communications.

We got to the venue and managed to get in during one of Garry Brotherstone's songs. He was very very good and one of his latest songs was the highlight of the show for me. Afterwards my Mum revealed that she knew him pretty well and used to see him every week... news to me. She'd said after he'd sang that she'd like to speak to him but I just ignored her... didn't realise that she actually knew him. At the interval we randomly saw dozens of people we knew and didn't know were going to be there.

I'd seen Fraser sitting at a big sound desk at the back looking very busy on my way in (late) so didn't want to disturbe him on my way out. As I was taking my Mum out he shouted over and asked if I was just going to walk straigh out past him without talking! Well... yes! He gave me a guided tour of this very fancy sound-desk which looked far more complicated than the one I'm used to using although when you have 325 people in a choir and a large band and a drum kit that looked like it had at least eight channels of its own it's likely to be pretty complicated! I also managed to get a guided tour of the video and lighting from dyb which was also very good... although he didn't let me play around as much I'd wanted but by that stage Donald and Alan were searching the building for me and thought I was lost.

We got to the train station to see if things had improved at about 22:28 and the notices said the 22:30 train was cancelled but there was a train at 23:00 so we went around the corner to get chips (not my suggestion!!!!! I wanted pizza). We got back to discover the 23:00 had been cancelled but there was one going to be running at 23:30 so we went up to the Scotrail people at the gate and asked what the chances of the 23:30 being cancelled after we wait around for another thirty minutes. They initially said that it should be running but saw the cynicism in my face so then invided my mum and I through the gate at which Donald, with a panicked expression shouted "we're with them" and followed us through... oh, and he brought Alan.

Scotrail then very kindly provided us with a taxi, on them, all the way back home in Edinburgh which would have cost over £70.00... strange perk given that being visually impaired we don't have to pay for tickets in the first place!

Today we were dropping my mum off at the train station to go back to Perth and left ages and ages of time to get to the station but got stuck in a severe traffic jam that meant we got stuck for half an hour so had to take her back home. We then took her to the next train three hours later but allowed an extra half an hour but didn't get stuck in traffic at all so were thirty minutes early. We put my Mum into the GNER office and asked for assistance but the two GNER representatives in their were both balding grumpy men who where in their late 40's and obviously very frustrated with their jobs and had clearly comfort-ate their way to having waist-lines surpassing their ages which meant they struggled to keep themselves contained in their GNER uniforms. They grumbled that they were too busy and couldn't be bothered assisting anyone (that's their job) and that if they put her on they put her on and if they didn't they didn't. Being that size probably didn't boost their motivation to take her over to the train. Being fat is quite a vicious circle! My Mum is quite confident so she said that was ok and she'd just sit in the office until tomorrow. I wouldn't have minded but the office wasn't even 20 metres away from the train platform... platform 11. It really couldn't have been any closer.

That's her on the train now, so I can have a bit of peace.