Jigsaw

I was at Euston by 9am which is a little early for the 9:40am to Birmingham International but allowed me time to get some breakfast and a coffee. I figured out which platform the train would be going from before it was officially announced and so was, pretty much, at the front going through the ticket check.  It was quite a full train which, I suppose, is not surprising given that it’s one of the first off-peak trains to Birmingham.

As we headed north, the train was slowed by a local train in front, and my nice 20 minute connection at Birmingham International was looking less-and-less likely. For the last half hour of the journey I was forever consuming the National Rail app to try to figure out if I would be better staying on the train to Birmingham New Street and looking for an alternative connection.  I am glad I got off where I planned to because they were holding the Shrewsbury-bound train in the platform and I had time to cross the bridge and board before we set off.  In the end, what could have been an hour-or-more delay (which is a lot to lose on a day trip) was no more than five or six minutes late arriving in Shrewsbury.

I met Mum and Dad and we set off for a tapas place they wanted to try. Unfortunately, it turned out to be closed so we walked back across the Welsh Bridge to The Armoury where we had a nice lunch. We had nothing else to do but Dad was getting a bit agitated with the slow(ish) service but I thought it was fine and allowed to us have a lovely chat.

For some reason we got to talking about teachers and Mum talked fondly of her English (and sewing) teacher Mrs Bryon who inspired her to want to teach. I’d never heard the story before and I’d never realised that my Mum, as a little girl, had an ambition to teach.  It’s great that she managed to fulfil that ambition and nice to spend an afternoon talking about such things.

After lunch we went back to their house for a cup of tea and, it turns out, an attempt to do the Agatha Christie jigsaw that we bought for Mum’s birthday. It’s a lot more complex than I imagined but we managed to spend a good hour and half doing a few more pieces.  

We were so engrossed that we left late to make my train home. Fortunately, traffic was light and I caught the train. On arrival in Birmingham, I found out that my journey from New Street to Euston was cancelled. I thought about getting on the slow service but the guard, who was on the platform, recommended I wait for the next Avanti service as it would be quicker.  I’d lost my seat reservation because of the cancellation and was worried I’d be standing all the way to London but, fortunately, I was stood in exactly the right place for the doors to the unreserved carriage on the train that eventually pulled in, and I was easily, and quickly, able to find a seat. It did mean I was home about a hour later than planned.