Another of my interesting weekends, and I have a tale worth telling.

My intention was to go to Birmingham on Saturday on the train, watch a few bands, chat to a few people and then return the same way. It was, perhaps, a sign of things to come when the woman who sold me the ticket told me there were no trains going North and I would have to travel there by one of the coaches lined up outside the railway station.
So I ended up sat near the back of the coach to Birmingham and passed the journey by reading the newspaper etc. The teenagers in the seat behind me had a different approach to passing the time, it was some type of game where the rules seemed to involve matching numbers to the vehicles they could see through the window, depending on the outcome one of them would slap the other across the hand. They kept this up for nearly an hour and it was REALLY ANNOYING!!!!!!!!!
So if any of you ever read this, thanks for giving me the headache!!!!

Anyway when all was said and done I arrived at the venue (a small pub called the Old Wharf) a few minutes after the first band had started playing. During the afternoon / evening I met the people I intended to meet and had a nice time listening to bands etc and so what if I had too much to drink lol.

Now the day before I had checked the train times and was confident in the knowledge that the last train home left at 11:10pm and with this in mind I said my goodbyes and set off for the train station at about 10:30pm
I got to the train station, walked slowly down the entrance to each of the platforms and read the electronic information boards as I went.
None of them displayed the correct destination.
I double-backed on myself to reread them all.
None of them displayed the correct destination.
I walked round to the railway station's information service, the conversation went something like this :
"When and where is the train leaving from?"
"There isn't any more today".
"When is the next one?"
"8am tomorrow morning"

I walk off a short distance and sit down on the floor.
I get back up off the floor and return the venue and buy myself another beer.
After desperately seeking some help I try and find somewhere I can spend the night, due to the late hour not a chance!!
I take a last ditch attempt at begging some musicians for a lift or room for the night, their van is all full with equipment, not a chance!!
It comes down to a choice between hanging round the station for about eight hours (not the slightest bit tempting) or the option I picked which was catching a taxi home, the total fare was 120 quid.
I think an important lesson was learned don't you?
Adam Wilby "Traveling man" Peaceful - 15 years, 7 months, 4 days ago

I suppose I should really start writing stuff in here again, kind of a mini-blog.
Been an interesting weekend - in no specific order I have :

* Got annoyed enough with some twat on another forum to make a formal complaint to the moderators.

* Went to see the greyhound races for an evening as a works party and won perhaps £2.

*Now I am sat here, am rather drunk and trying to decide if I am drunk enough, which I probably am lol
Adam Wilby "Traveling man" Peaceful - 15 years, 7 months, 20 days ago

A new story about Thailand :

I had thought that my experiences of Thailand would end with the journey home as I awaited the connecting flight from Bangkok Airport to London Heathrow. After spending several hours seated directly opposite a row of four cafe/restaurants with, of all things, a Starbucks coffee shop on one end I was proven wrong.
A man in a shirt and tie who seemed to be the manager of the Thai cafe/restaurant stood outside with two menus in his hand and with energy levels that seemed to be eternal set about the task of enticing people in as they walked past. It was in my minds eye I could almost picture the meeting which he might have had with his staff earlier in the day, a rough approximation being - 'I get them in, you serve and feed them'. It couldn't be a coincidence that other representatives from neighbouring restaurants attempted a similar tactic but from what I could see nowhere near the same levels of success.
Perhaps it was his continued perserverance which paid off, he would keep it up for seemingly ages before dropping back inside for a break to either sit down or talk to his staff for a bit. I suppose if you're going to put it down to anything it may as well be that.
Adam Wilby "Traveling man" Peaceful - 16 years, 8 months, 20 days ago

I think Morgan Freeman had it right in the film The Shawshank Redemption - 'Get busy living or get busy dying'.

Get busy living everyone.
Adam Wilby "Traveling man" Peaceful - 16 years, 9 months, 7 days ago

Another tale from Thailand, bit out of sequence but there are more to come...

There's nothing in the world as valuable as the ability to improvise, in this instance what do when all of a sudden all of the power in the restaurant where you work blinks off in 'domino' style leaving the whole restaurant in darkness in less than two seconds. As it turned out the restaurant staff had some candles out back in some drawer or other, and it was these which they placed on the tables of all customers who were dining so they could see what they were eating and where it was. It's not every day you get to say your last meal in Phuket, Thailand was eaten by candlelight...
Adam Wilby "Traveling man" Peaceful - 16 years, 9 months, 21 days ago