and the three of them summoned up enough puff to extinguish them.
They all posed for group shots - the children always make their way to our drawer of dressing up clothes - Jamie (6) just loves the pink tights that Chris wore as a pantomime Dame one Christmas when he was working.
George (10), Evelyn (9), Jamie (6), Molly (14) and Noah (11).
Mark and Jo
Sarah (daughter) and Paul
Saturday saw 9 of us (all but Mark and Paul) at Bromsgrove station to get the 10:43 to Birmingham. We were off to see Matilda at The Hippodrome at 13:15. First stop was an All Bar One restaurant for what turned out to be a very long lunch. Once we had ordered, Sarah and I hot footed it to the theatre to collect the tickets to find out the actual start time was 14:30!! We had an excellent lunch with a couple of drinks and it was actually good to have a bit extra time to chat with everyone. It was our first visit to an All Bar One and we were very impressed - everyone got good food and the service was first rate. One grandchild has a severe peanut allergy which did not phase them at all.
Jo, Molly (14) and I had been to Matilda in 2013 and loved it. When I first heard it was coming to Birmingham I booked our seats the first time they became available, some 18 months ago. We were in the front row of the circle. The view was good, however leg room was limited, probably due to the age of the theatre. The production was just as brilliant as it was 5 years ago. All nine of us loved it. Casting Miss Trunchball as a man is just inspired. What an experience and one I hope the children remember for all time. At one point I asked Jamie (6) if he could see okay - his answer 'yes of course Grandma, I am nearly 7!!' That was me politely put in my place.
All that remained to be done was to make our way back to Bromsgrove by train. 11b was the designated platform for the 17:50. We were in plenty of time, however the train wasn't. At 17:57 it was still showing as 'On time'!
We waited and waited - a mixture of smiles a grimaces
Next the display board stated that the next train arriving at platform 11b would be the 18:12 to Plymouth. Not a good sign. Eventually there was a tannoy message apologising for the delay, but they were trying to find a crew. We tried to make the best of it.
After yet a further wait a man came along and advised us to go to platform 9a and get the 18:50. We did and were amazed to find 9 seats together. As soon as we sat down we realised why - the stench of urine was almost overwhelming. We did not explore, but guessed it must be due to a blocked toilet. The bins were also overflowing. It was probably worse than some third world countries and made me ashamed to be British. It is no wonder that people think twice about using public transport.
It did not ruin the weekend, which was fantastic, but with an hours delay we should be able to claim the fare back. I paid for all nine tickets and have tried to use the West Midlands train site to make my claim, but it appears that you have to make individual claims! I have sent a message to customer services for their advice on how I make a multiple claim. The automated reply states that they try to respond to inquiries within 10 working days, but it may be up to 20! Watch this space. Nothing compared to what some commuters are facing on a daily basis, but I will dig in to get my refund.
On Sunday the family dispersed and we travelled back to Hartford to find the boat safe and dry despite what the weather had thrown at it over the weekend. The final part of our journey back to Droitwich Spa in early October will begin on Monday 30th July.
2 comments:
Super photos Jennie. They are all growing up so fast!
Thanks Lynn - time certainly does not stay still does it?!
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