I couldn’t think of another ‘R’ word, OK?
Don’t make this weird.
Remember that strong onshore wind I mentioned in the previous post?
Yeah, well it came with some strong on-land rain in places other than Penzance.
I’d caught the 10am to London Paddington, and things were fine for a while, though we did have to slow down for a flooded low-lying bit.
Then we had to stop because a local service up ahead had reported water flowing through a tunnel, and it needed to be checked to make sure it hadn’t undermined the tracks.
It turned out to be OK.
Then a different local service reported a stream flowing through a different tunnel, and the train was diverted onto an alternate route. I did try to get a shot of the tunnel we passed through where a stream was running down the other tracks at maybe foot-arch level, but the phone was having trouble focusing through the window.
Then the warnings about how we might not be able to get past Bristol started.
We did get to Bristol, in the end, and stayed at the platform for a while as they tried to figure out a workable route.
Tried and failed, so we were all offloaded, some still clutching their plastic cups of wine from First Class, to wait for further announcements regarding ongoing transport. Probably coaches, which didn’t really thrill anyone.
I should point out that I had an open return ticket which, at that stage, nobody had looked at, so I was wondering whether I should just stay in Bristol, contact the hostel in London to ask them to hold the room, and continue when the waters receded; The ticket would still be valid, and it was for any permitted route between Penzance & London.
Didn’t do this, partially because we weren’t on the platform that long, and partially because I was hoping it’d work like airlines and I could reluctantly volunteer to be put up somewhere.
A train to London happened on another platform.
Not sure why that one could get through, but ours couldn’t, but I am sure that schlepping up the stairs with my big-ass pack was the right move, as I got a seat. Unlike the folks who arrived more than a minute after I did, who had to stand in the carriage end-bits and wait to pounce upon seats as people disembarked.
All told, the train was maybe three hours late, and after that, the tube ride to my hostel was a bit of an anticlimax.
I liked the Barmy Badger last time, so I stayed there again.
Same room as last time, grabbed the same bed as last time, and ended up with the same room-mate as last time.
How can you not appreciate a hostel with this set of rules?
The plan for the week was to use the availability of bank branches to take the advice of the Kiwis In London Facebook group, who suggested that trying different branches of one particular bank was the way to go; If you got someone who was stickler for having proof of address (tricky when you have no job to pay for an address, which is tricky when you have no bank account), you try the next one.
Got an appointment on the second place I tried, having learned what not to say, and as expected, once I was talking to an actual person, it all went very simply; Getting past the gatekeepers was the hard part.
The Christmas decorations are up.
Some of them are delicate and somewhat tasteful for it still being bloody November, and create mood.
And then some look like a Mardi Gras giant threw a handful of distressingly sticky beads at a building.
Sorting out the bank stuff took a day to get the appointment, a morning two days later to to meet with my account manager and do all of the things, and a whole lot of energy.
Re-charging said energy happened through the careful re-watching of season one of Killjoys, as season two had happened without me hearing about it, and I wanted to reacquaint myself with the show before going on to the new stuff.
Also, it’s a show that’s worth re-watching.
My new bank card & associated gubbins are heading to a location in Southern England, so it didn’t make a whole lot of sense to head out of London until I had them in a working condition, so staying in the city became the next thing.
The Badger, sadly, was booked up for the weekend, and like so many of the regulars, I had to find somewhere else, so I went back to St. Christopher’s Inn in Greenwich, where I’d stayed back in June, when I first got to the UK.
Here’s what I said then;
After a few days I moved to a hostel in Greenwich, St. Christopher’s, which is over a pub.
This becomes important later.
This was my first ‘bed in a dormitory’ stay of the trip, and indeed my first of that type of stay in a very long time.
I’ve stayed in hostels before, but had gone with private rooms. This wasn’t an option here.
The setup at St. Christopher’s was pretty good; You enter through the bar, but there’s a prox-card door to get into the hostel proper, another to open the door to the room, a specifically assigned bed, and a locker big enough that I could have fitted Big Red in there twice over without issue, in the form of a rolling metal cage which took up half of the under-bed space, with the other half being the locker for the other bunk. I got the top bunk, and it was pretty comfy, and also under a window, which was a useful thing, because holy crapballs did that place get hot. Even with a pedestal fan going and the windows open it was still too hot to need the provided duvet most nights, and I only closed the window when absolutely needed, such as heavy rain.
On the subject of that window … Yeah, the pub was loud. To the extent that there was a jar of earplugs in each room, provided for free, and on Friday & Saturday nights they were really needed, as the loud music didn’t stop until 2am. Rest of the time it only ran 10pm to Midnight.
This place had piped music running constantly, not at ear-splitting volume, but at a noticeable level, even at 7am during breakfast.
It’s much cooler now?
The nice folks at the Badger offered to let me store my bag there, as I’d only be gone for the weekend, so I took them up on it and only packed what I thought were the basics‡. In hindsight, I wish the basics had included a warm layer, because there’s a cold snap on, and my grey hoodie has become the best thing ever.
I tried for a panorama, but it didn’t work out so well; Still, it gives you a sense of the layout of the room.
Each bed has a panel with a wee light (rigged with a prism/louver thing to cast most of the light down at about 45° onto the bed), a couple of USB ports for charging, and a couple of power points/hotpoints/receptacles – I did have to move the bed along a bit to make the power point accessible, as the frame was right over the one I wanted.
I was the first one in on Friday, and wondered if I’d have the place to myself, but a couple of family groups turned up:
- Parents+Son from somewhere in East Asia, who stayed one night and were replaced for the next by two West Asian guys and an Italian Stonemason who’d learned his trade in Perth, Western Australia.
- Mother+Daughter from Turkey, who were doing the tourist thing during one of the daughter’s University breaks – University in, or maybe of, Bournemouth?
Greenwich continues to be interesting, and the markets are everywhere.
In this case the Christmas lighting is serving a dual purpose of decoration and compensating for the 4pm sunset.
The Cutty Sark, looking like Santa has chosen a more Nautical approach for this year’s transport.
I’m pretty please with that last shot – It looks, to me at least, like the ship is raising some very odd sails and getting under way on a reflecting sea.
Arrr! Hoist the mistle-mizzen!
We’ve a yule-tide to catch!!
And a view across the river.
Remember this? → ‡
I’ve been traveling & living out of Big Red since mid-April, and what felt back then like an impossibly tiny amount of stuff now feels like I’m dragging a huge amount of crap.
Some of that feeling may well be accurate, and I did have to upgrade my day pack on my way out of the USA, because a 15 litre bag was just not cutting it.
The process of packing up for a few days away from The Barmy Badger reminded me of the One Bag school of thought when it comes to travel; Folks who will do an extended trip, where extended might mean a Long Weekend Away, or might mean an Around The World trip, with what amounts to a single carry-on sized bag.
I’ve got to say, the idea is growing on me.
I did meet someone in Reykjavik who was traveling in that manner, admittedly from a home base in Taiwan so she only needed to pack for a known quantity of conditions, but she was quite keen on it as a way to simplify travel and never lose your luggage.
Don’t think I could go Zero Bag, like some folk do, but I’m right on board with the idea of not carrying as much stuff.
I think, when the opportunity presents itself, I shall spread out all of the stuff I’m carrying around and try to classify it by “When Did I Last Use This”, “How Often Did I Use This”, and in some cases “Have I Ever Used This”.
Hopefully I won’t need “This Isn’t Mine” or “What Even Is This”.
And the last thing is this.
It’s … like the capsule hotel of co-working spaces, as near as I can tell from the Pod Works website.
Only one of them looks finished, and I’d personally hope for a seat, or at least something to perch upon, but the idea seems to be that it’s a very small private workspace. Not certain who their market is, though it might be the sort of place that’d be good for recording a podcast if one were staying in a hostel dorm.
That said, it’s also really exposed, and even if it’s code-accessed, you’re still in a wee box with windows, letting everyone know what technology you’ve got with you, and only one possible exit.
Also, I keep wondering how they got the pee-smell out of the old phone box.