T

oo Frikkin' Late

Today was my first experience of a breakdown in public transport. After hearing that the Northern line wasn't running (at least, not from a station near to me) I decided to hang on to my digsmate and go to Wimbledon and grab the overland to Waterloo, then catching the Northern line to Charing Cross, my station for work.

So it wasn't the greatest - the closure of my station meant that EVERYONE was trying to catch a bus to an open station - so Dale and I decided to walk to Wimbledon. It's a gorgeous day today, and in a way I'm so happy to have walked - I feel very pepped right now.
So after a reasonable overland train trip I arrived at Waterloo, which was SWAMPED. Everyone was late for work, so everyone was tense, and there were also delays on other lines.

Long story sort, I got to work half an hour late, which was fine, even good, considering.
I guess it's just a shock after having nothing but good experiences with public transport in London, to feel well and truly stuck for a little bit again.

That said, I have to give kudos to Oyster - I lost my Oyster card with my monthly travelcard booked onto it this week. I left it on the train. My bad.
I called, and Oyster told me they would replace my card in 3-4 working days, with the remaining credit of my monthly travelcard (about half a month) on the new card.
They sent me a new one in 2 days. In a spiffy little case. With no hassle.
They are even willing to refund me on the travel tickets I bought in the 2 days I was without the card.
These guys are no squirrel monkeys - they're fantastic. Helpful, friendly, efficient, good customer service, take the onus upon themselves to solve problems, a problem that my own carelessness caused. They must have a clear understanding of the annoyance of losing this precious little card - it affects you daily, and affects your ability to get to and from work.
Impressed, I am.