All change

An eventful journey!

1. All trains from Edgware Road to Wimbledon were redirected to Ealing Broadway for no apparent reason and in contradiction to the tradition it has followed since that particular branch of the District Line was opened 100-and-whatever-or-so years ago.  In order to get to Wimbledon, I had to change at Earl's Court, of course losing my seat in the process (and having voluntarily given up my seat for a pregnant lady in the morning, I really would have liked to have been able to sit for this journey).
2. Amazingly, there was a tube to Wimbledon waiting on the platform opposite so I did not have to endure the usual heaving mass of the station, coupled with the usual random platform dance over the bridges that the TfL staff there seem to so enjoy sending us through.  Oh, and the lack of any kind of time information on next trains.
3. However, this tube stopped within spitting distance of the platform at Wimbledon for a while because of a random red signal.  This caused me to miss my connection to Hampton Court.  Instead, I jumped on the train to Kingston and, from there, on the bus.  This meant I got to my final destination just 20 minutes late, rather than 30 (you're welcome TfL - again!).

So, another £50 to the pot and, as promised, my updated Tube Bingo card:

Tomorrow, I'll be doing a little travelling on the underground during the day too, so there's a very good chance I'll be able to get my very first Bingo - you don't want to miss that, so make sure you come back...

Or have you already won a game of Tube Bingo, in which case I hate you?

Top of the morning, bottomed out by evening (sorry!)

Well, there's a first: TfL was the best part of my morning this a.m.  Some kind of accident on Hampton Court Road delayed me in the toddler drop-off run so that I missed my train.  Half an hour to wait for the next one, which ran smoothly enough for me to hit my connection and get to work without a glitch (so still half an hour late, but not TfL's fault).

Guess they wanted to make up for last night's fiasco.  I wonder if they can keep it up for a perfect score today?  Still, kudos to TfL for a pleasant commute.


UPDATE: normal service has been resumed.  TfL was unable to keep up the good work, which appears to have been a fluke.  This time on my journey home, the train to take me from Wimbledon to Hampton Court arrived 17 minutes late.  Seventeen minutes.  The explanation offered for this was more-or-less inaudible, but I made out something to do with an earlier fault or suspension, so I've ticked off the Tube Bingo card (below) accordingly.

 NB: the tube from Edgware Road to Wimbledon was also delayed, owing to being held at a couple of red signals, but owing to the longer delay of the connecting train, this didn't matter in the end.  You see?  With every cloud, TfL provides the silver lining.

Speaking of silver linings, another one courtesy of TfL is that, if you are unsure what to do with yourself this weekend, the pressure is off: now the Olympics and Paralympics are over, widespread weekend line closures are back.  So now you can't do anything this weekend.  Enjoy!


UPDATE 2: I forgot the charge for those 17 minutes: £42.50.