Our introduction and chat board, these days, include in its subtitle "including records of your personal journeys" so here goes on my log of the trip I'm taking this week.    I watch and think as I travel and look and see things, idiiosyncracise (which I can't spell), many things write and a few things where I think "if only".   

Monday 3rd March 2025

Part 1 - from asleep to The Lawn

To my local station

Up at 6 a.m. to pack for an 07:30 walk from home to the station. Slight panic to find 7 emails sent over the weekend jammed in my outbox (an I had been wondering why I had not had even a single ackledgement - thank goodness Lisa and I email each other occasionally because that's how I found the problem - "did you get the copy of my schedule" I asked ... "no".  So rushed shower and pack - travelling light with just a pack, clothes change, medical necessities.  Also bottle of iced tea, packet biscuits, booking papers ... and European Train Timetable and book 1 of European Rail Maps (getting into practise for May to August)

At Station
- No sign of Coffee Stand that was there on Mondays when I last checked.
TVM^▸ (Ticket Vending Machine) working and picked up tickets for Tuesday and Wednesday
(I already had my tickets for today - picked up last month)
Machine which was not working the other day (unresponsive to touch) worked.

08:02 Melksham to Chippenham
- on time + Circa 20-25 on, handful off
- 2 car 158 / 48 in one carriage 47 in second = 95 to Chippenham
- With passengers off. that's about [100/30] how we used to measure - passengers total on single line (service unique to TransWilts) and Melksham users
- Ticket checked (and 'clipped') - "Sir" can I see your railcard.
- Guess around 30-35 off and say 25 on at Chippenham.

08:26 Chippenham to Paddington (9 carriage IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train))
- Grabbed coffee and flapjack at Hearty Hare - do not trust on train supply.
- It's several weeks since I was at CPM^» (Chippenham - next trains) station but waiting room on platform still boarded up
- Noting display says "peak tickets only" but mine is a cheap advanced.
There isn't any such thing as a peak ticket, is there??
- Reserved seat already occupied (and one next to it with bag)
- Bag cleared but I would rather have had the window seat I booked
- Left on time, but signal halt a few minutes later and proceed under caution
- Ticket check - call for "any more unchecked tickets please" - as mine had been checked and stamped already I just sat and TM^▸ (Train Manager) (?) passed by ... noting he was checking rail cards as routine but not using the patronising "sir" to people in a way I had felt on the other train.
- Announcement @ 08:45 - "now running 11 minutes late due to signalling probs"
- My reserved seat cleared at Swindon; I have chosen not to move being settled and at a table, 2 laptops diagonally works best with 2 unoccupied seats.
- "Please take all your belongings with you" - always tempted to say I'm fortunate to have many more belongings at home that I'm unable to carry ... being far too much of a pedant this morning!
- Announcement @ 08:50 - "full catering service this morning - trolley coming through standard class - please keep aisles clear for us to pull it backwards. We have a range of herbal teas. Do not accept cash but full range of cards and contactless"
- 09:07 into Didcot, out at 09:09.
- Around 09:20 off Reading. Still just 4 persons in 8 bays at tables.
- 09:32 "Catering service has now closed to let us set up for our next journey"
P.S. We never saw the catering trolley, so what was "full service" about it?
- 09:44 came to a halt - 10 minutes late

At Paddington
- Noticed that our train was due back out at 10:00 - so 15 minute turn around
- Onto the lawn at 09:47 (busy train and one of the gateline staff opened the wide barrier to let us floow through).
Stopped a few minutes for the call of nature, in the knowledge that nature can be called for free these days at Paddington if you go around under the taxi rank / platform 12.