The Philanderer
Friday, July 10, 2009
A little bit of everything Sir?
Not to be confused with a little something for the weekend......
I was transported back in time yesterday when I caught the Virgin trains Liverpool to london express yesterday. it was a short notice work trip so there was nothing for it but to travel 1st Class. You could have blown me over with t feather when i found out it featured the 'full English' on the menu.
Now in days gone by, when I travelled regularly in the chocolate and cream coloured coaches pulled by brunswick green locomotives like the Cornish Riviera express and the Flying Scotsman, I would regularly have time to grab the 'full English' between Paddington and Bristol or Bath.
The meals were served from huge silver platters by attendants in smart red and black uniforms, and the opportunity for an extra rasher or two eggs was always available. It was like a gentlemans club as the staff took great pride in their work and knew many of the regulars by first name terms.
So what of the modern equivalent? Well the menu could not be faulted, cereal, fruit juice, tea and coffee, toast and croissants followed by 'full English' or bacon or sausage baps. Both the sausage and bacon were top drawer, and the potato rosti with fried egg just hit the spot.
The only thing lacking was the 'service' mentality of the staff. Many of them were struggling to raise a smile or pass the time of day with their clients, and all gave the appearance of a jobsworth just waiting for it all to end. There was no opportunity to have extra tea or coffee if you missed the urn run, and it would have probably been unwise to ask for an extra banger. Hey, lets be positive though, it was a great start to the day, and at £129 for the ticket, probably the most expensive breakfast I have ever eaten!!
The journey home though was a nightmare, as the train was declassified due to route cancellations. So 1st Class was chocka and no food service was available except from the buffet car, the train was an hour late into Liverpool as it stopped at additional stations in and near Birmingham, consequently the £57 fare home did not even come close to value for money. I could have gone cattle for £12!!
Still the Wifi is fab and that kept me sane, and it was better than spending 7 hours on the motorway, after all, and it was not Virgins fault some little scrot wrecked the signalling system in the West Midlands, was it?
I was transported back in time yesterday when I caught the Virgin trains Liverpool to london express yesterday. it was a short notice work trip so there was nothing for it but to travel 1st Class. You could have blown me over with t feather when i found out it featured the 'full English' on the menu.
Now in days gone by, when I travelled regularly in the chocolate and cream coloured coaches pulled by brunswick green locomotives like the Cornish Riviera express and the Flying Scotsman, I would regularly have time to grab the 'full English' between Paddington and Bristol or Bath.
The meals were served from huge silver platters by attendants in smart red and black uniforms, and the opportunity for an extra rasher or two eggs was always available. It was like a gentlemans club as the staff took great pride in their work and knew many of the regulars by first name terms.
So what of the modern equivalent? Well the menu could not be faulted, cereal, fruit juice, tea and coffee, toast and croissants followed by 'full English' or bacon or sausage baps. Both the sausage and bacon were top drawer, and the potato rosti with fried egg just hit the spot.
The only thing lacking was the 'service' mentality of the staff. Many of them were struggling to raise a smile or pass the time of day with their clients, and all gave the appearance of a jobsworth just waiting for it all to end. There was no opportunity to have extra tea or coffee if you missed the urn run, and it would have probably been unwise to ask for an extra banger. Hey, lets be positive though, it was a great start to the day, and at £129 for the ticket, probably the most expensive breakfast I have ever eaten!!
The journey home though was a nightmare, as the train was declassified due to route cancellations. So 1st Class was chocka and no food service was available except from the buffet car, the train was an hour late into Liverpool as it stopped at additional stations in and near Birmingham, consequently the £57 fare home did not even come close to value for money. I could have gone cattle for £12!!
Still the Wifi is fab and that kept me sane, and it was better than spending 7 hours on the motorway, after all, and it was not Virgins fault some little scrot wrecked the signalling system in the West Midlands, was it?
Labels: Birmingham, brunswick green, chocolate and cream, cornish riviera, flying scotsman, full english, GWR, virgin trains
¶ 1:15 PM 0 Comments
Sunday, January 6, 2008
All change please
That could be the theme for 2008, when we all hope for a better year than that we have just had. In my case though it refers to my extended festive break up in Scouse.
But first things first, the blog has had a rest for a few weeks, so I would now like to wish all my regular and itinerant visitors a very happy new year, and I wish you all you wish yourselves for 2008, be it a new job, new home, different lifestyle, or just more of the same....go for it.
Clearly i was hoping for 2007 to present me with a new home, but for now I will just have to put myself in the hands of the local estate agents again and hope for a change of fortune sometime soon. A new job would also be handy, with something at the Olympic Games being favourite at the moment.
Now as tenuous links go, we have one here. My extended break up North was facilitated by some rather basic cock-ups by Network Rail, as they tried to cram too may engineering upgrades into the holiday period. As I was carless over the holiday, I was therefore faced with either a nine hour trip back to London, via Sheffield or waiting for the West Coast line to reopen.
So sitting on my Virgin train on Friday I was very disappointed that the world renowned Scouse humour seemed to desert the train driver and he missed the opportunity to apologise to the passengers for the train being two days late departing...Oh well, I made it back OK and am now ready to resume normal life.
Oh yes, the tenuous link. well, two high-profile figures are in the frame over the shambles that has blighted the railway system.
One is John Armitt, 61, who was the chief executive of Network Rail until he retired last July. He set the strategy to implement the improvement programme that has inflicted so much misery on the travelling public.
He had been credited for the recovery of the rail industry after the Railtrack debacle.
Now the inability of Network Rail to deliver a project on time will raise alarm in Whitehall, given that his new task is to make sure that London is ready for the 2012 Olympics.
I understand in some quarters the project is now being referred to as London 2014!!!!!
But first things first, the blog has had a rest for a few weeks, so I would now like to wish all my regular and itinerant visitors a very happy new year, and I wish you all you wish yourselves for 2008, be it a new job, new home, different lifestyle, or just more of the same....go for it.
Clearly i was hoping for 2007 to present me with a new home, but for now I will just have to put myself in the hands of the local estate agents again and hope for a change of fortune sometime soon. A new job would also be handy, with something at the Olympic Games being favourite at the moment.
Now as tenuous links go, we have one here. My extended break up North was facilitated by some rather basic cock-ups by Network Rail, as they tried to cram too may engineering upgrades into the holiday period. As I was carless over the holiday, I was therefore faced with either a nine hour trip back to London, via Sheffield or waiting for the West Coast line to reopen.
So sitting on my Virgin train on Friday I was very disappointed that the world renowned Scouse humour seemed to desert the train driver and he missed the opportunity to apologise to the passengers for the train being two days late departing...Oh well, I made it back OK and am now ready to resume normal life.
Oh yes, the tenuous link. well, two high-profile figures are in the frame over the shambles that has blighted the railway system.
One is John Armitt, 61, who was the chief executive of Network Rail until he retired last July. He set the strategy to implement the improvement programme that has inflicted so much misery on the travelling public.
He had been credited for the recovery of the rail industry after the Railtrack debacle.
Now the inability of Network Rail to deliver a project on time will raise alarm in Whitehall, given that his new task is to make sure that London is ready for the 2012 Olympics.
I understand in some quarters the project is now being referred to as London 2014!!!!!
Labels: John Armitt, london olympics, network rail, railtrack, scouse humour, virgin trains
¶ 12:26 PM 0 Comments
