At least this morning I didn't have to deal with the jobsworth ticket inspector who once tried to fine me £20 for sitting in First Class when it was standing room only.
But there's something quaintly old-fashioned about commuting to work everyday while modern technology means that I could do most of the work I do from home.
Actually, it's just bloody annoying!
Take this morning. I decided on a new strategy to try to beat my natural inclination to stay in bed/at home even after I know I'm supposed to leave for work. I like to move very slowly in the mornings. My usual routine of a cup of tea while making packed lunch, reading email/news followed by shave, shower, breakfast, getting dressed was taking longer and longer. I figured that a lot of these activities I can carry out either the night before, or - in the case of breakfast and lunch - at work.
So my new routine was working fine this morning as I made my way to the train station for the 07:02 to London. It was a beautiful morning. The trains were running normally....
Except that they weren't.
For the first time in a while I made it to the station half an hour earlier than normal only to find that the two trains I usually miss had both been cancelled. I was just glad I put on an extra layer as I sat and shivered with a couple of other souls.
We weren't lonely for long, of course. By the time the 07:33 arrived there were three lots of pasengers waiting to get on a train that itself was already three times as full as normal. And so on at each of the three stops be ore London. It's bad enough when the trains are running on schedule - the second to last stop before London, you have no chance of ever getting a seat. Often you can't even board to stand.
At least there was one moment of relief. A frustrated would-be passenger held up the train for several minutes by refusing to let the doors close. The driver tried to reason with him as did other passengers. The driver cheerily informed him that he could sit there all day as he's getting paid ?25 per hour.... Shit, that's almost twice as much as me :-(
Wha's annoying is the lack of accurate and current information, the lack of adequate numbers of carriages and seats during peak times and the lack of any real alternatives. How difficult was it to resend an updated text message? Why aren't there more carriages? (Commuters must be the train companies' bread and butter customers, surely? Don't we deserve a seat?) And getting to London via bus or tube is not really a viable alternative from where I am, not for a delay of thirty minutes, anyway.
On a good day, of course, the train is great. It's just that those days are few and far between.
