It happens. Shit. Most of the time we have the skills and the wherewithal to prevent it. But when once shit has happened, it’s happened. Plan A all the way usually. When you’re digging out plan B’s then generally the shit is precariously close to the fan..
The clock suddenly said 5.53. I’m going to London. I had a train to get at 6.15 with a view to getting a coach from Leeds at 7.15. I’m about 5 miles from the train station, vehicle-less and my original idea of a steady 30 minute jog was not going to work. Bicycle, but where can I leave it for the entire day and I don’t have an adequate lock. I glanced at my 8 year olds Puky scooter. It’s literally a kids scooter. It’ll get me down hills fast and nobody is going to break my suitcase standard padlock and chain to nick it.
Off I ‘fly’. The scooter trundles at best. Even on a good bit of downhill there’s so much traction, it’s like it’s almost on strike, in limp mode due to the ridiculousness of me resorting to using it.
I find a tethering point just outside of town, secure it and dash towards the station. It’s 6.09. As I’m running full pelt, via the bus station a man approached me. I genuinely can’t understand what he is saying and head on.
I only realised he was telling me I was dropping things out of my rucksack when I was nearly at the station and some of the contents of what was left in my bag went skidding between my feet. I hadn’t zipped rucksack after locking up child’s scooter. So there was now a trail of things you might possibly need for a day out in London behind me-a body warmer, phone lead, oranges..I decided to try for train anyway. Bought ticket, got into view of the train. I hadn’t even got out of the underpass before I heard it rev up and head off.
As it was early I decided it was worth the backtrack to find what I’d lost. The guy who’d tried to help me was still in the bus station so had chance to give him some acknowledgement and retrieved my body warmer.
Next train was 6.45. That would give me 5 minutes, once I got to the station to run to the bus depot to get the coach to London. Knowing it was pretty much futile, I decided to go for it.
While en route I engaged in the usual phone based distractions while already reflecting on the implications of the failed mission to get to the capital. I was going for the hell of it, there was a conspiracy theorist type gathering/demo going on ‘world wake up, get off your knees’ and I’m willing to engage with this stuff now as I believe the world is sliding to hell through compliantly carrying on with the increasingly tyrannical nonsense of coronavirus and all the dehumanising regression and alienation and global agendas that most of us are blisslessly unaware of.
The only other passenger in the carriage I was in was a man, pretty standard probably about 70 years old. On his phone, unusual for an oldie. Probably making social media rants about how some people are just irresponsible and dangerous when it comes to wearing face masks because he started having a go as I pulled my buff up to leave the train.
I’m ready for my futile dash to get the coach. And he’s going on about how I should have had it on all the time and wants me to justify why I haven’t. He was sat possibly 10 metres away and they don’t really do anything anyway was my answer. ‘Oh come on!’ I heard him exclaim as the doors finally opened and I sprinted off.
I missed the coach. I saw it leave the bus station so I did covered the ground from train platform to bus station in 5 minutes. Efficiency of everything else works against you when you are being inefficient. Bloody modern world! Working and actually running promptly, not like the good old unreliable days when there were delays and shortcuts and shortcomings. No this morning I was a shortcoming.
So Leeds was a closed, cold uninviting place and the mask thing just freaks me out. People dossing in doorways. Occasional pile of vomit. Nothing open. I headed back to the station to go back to the relative provincial comforts of my home town. The station has been modified for people to follow a certain direction to allow ‘safe’ transit with all the corona crap. So you can only get to platforms from one side. Not knowing this I ran to my usual platform and got on the train. Sitting there is the old guy who questioned me about my lack of adherence to face-masking earlier. His eyes narrowed above his mask as he saw me get on. I pulled my buff up and said ‘wow, quick visit to Leeds for you too then. Heading back to Huddersfield already..’. As the doors closed and we set off I managed to hear him say, ‘this train is going to Newcastle’. What a morning.
My Deerboy 