Yesterday was our wedding aniversary, a big one, but not a round number; the only problem was that we were 150 miles apart. I was in Somerset and Clare in London. That was expected as she had been at a special reunion – the problem was, having booked rail tickets well in advance at a keen price for First Class travel on a particular train, the Great Western trains between Paddington and the West Country had a problem, a 48 hour union strike.
What to do?
Have faith in the back-up plan. There were some trains running staffed by managers, and tickets were valid whichever train was used. In the event Clare caught an early train, getting home and hour and a half ahead of scheduled time. Having expected to be fighting for a seat with so few trains running, she travelled in style in an almost empty train. Most travellers had decided to keep clear of the railway following the media stories of strike horrors.
Chip Tolson 