Generate

I walked Mum and Dad to Raynes Park station just after 11 am. While we waited for the train, I found out they’d only been given ten minutes to change trains at Clapham, so I decided to board the train with them and help them across the bridges there. I was glad I did, as a train ran a few minutes late out of Wimbledon, and there was no chance of making the connection.

Since the direct Watford Junction connection only runs once an hour, I thought it would be better to stay on board and swap at Vauxhall for an Underground journey to Euston, where they might still catch the train they were originally booked on. Unfortunately, our late-running train skipped its stop at Vauxhall, so I put them on the Northern Line from Waterloo to catch a later train at Euston. In a quirk of railway timing, the later London departure was due to connect with the same Shrewsbury-bound service their original route would have. However, Britain’s railways weren’t working in their favour today; the connection at Birmingham International was cancelled, so they had to wait for a different train to New Street and then to Shrewsbury. It was only a thirty-minute delay, but there was considerable frustration with the constant changes. I suggested they keep their tickets and try to get a Delay Repay refund.

At the end of the day, I packed. Packing for just a single night and a day out wasn’t as easy as I expected. I didn’t want to carry a large bag, but I needed enough to wash and change in the morning. I managed to squeeze it all in, and we headed to Wimbledon Chase to catch the Thameslink to St Pancras.

When we arrived, we walked to the Travelodge we’d booked. The building loomed on the left-hand side, but when I went up to reception, I was told we were at the wrong hotel. The one we’d booked was another five minutes down the road.

The correct hotel was almost invisible. When we finally arrived, we found they were in the middle of a power cut that had clearly been going on for much of the day, as a generator was being installed outside the hotel foyer. The receptionist asked if we wanted to wait for power to be restored or be moved to another hotel in the chain. We weren’t offered the one we’d just passed, but instead something in Covent Garden. This would defeat the purpose of having a hotel near the station, so we decided to check in anyway.

We were escorted to our room by a member of staff who lit the way with her phone torch. The hotel was in complete darkness.

Eventually, we managed to light our room using our phones. We then had to decide whether to stay up or go to bed early. We realised the generator installation was happening right below our window. It wasn’t very quiet, but with the window shut, it was bearable.

Just as we were about to sleep, the power came back on, and all the lights turned on. I was relieved it did, as I’d begun to feel uneasy about the lack of any light in the hotel. It suggested even the emergency lighting had run out of battery, which made me worry about the fire alarms.

With the power back, we could plug in our devices and turn off the lights. Thankfully, the air conditioning also started working again, which we needed, as the window had to be closed to block out the noise of the generator.