Next time I think I'm gonna take the train

FIRSTLY big apologies for not posting before now, but on top of being mad busy I got smitten with a nasty flu. I could feel it working on me for a couple of days and then thump it hit me, and other than mad delirious bursts of energy when I managed to get some groceries and cleaning done, I have been floored.

While I am still feeling it, or should I say coughing, spluttering and snuffling it, I needed to go to Belfast today. So I went to bed early on Sunday night, got up this morning and decided that I would take the bus. After all they run every hour and cost half as much as the train. Bad move.

Of course we got stuck in a line of crazy traffic on the way, traffic all bound for Newry. I couldn't really complain as I brought a small overnight case on wheels to get some shopping myself. Despite the long tailbacks we still made it into Belfast in good time.

So I did my running about, stopped and had a coffee at one stage as I thought I was going to drop, before finishing my day trip in a pal's house having tea admiring their amazing yarden and then going to get the bus home at 6pm.

The bus was packed and somewhere around Lisburn the temperature on the bus began to rise, a lot.

At first I thought it was only me who was bothered and being pinned into the window seat I was afraid that my body would take over and I would find myself standing up shouting 'turn off the bloody heating' before I realised I had even done it. Fortunately others were feeling the same and it turned out the driver wasn't able to work the air conditioning or it wasn't working or something.

Either way just outside Newry after numerous complaints someone from the back of the bus came to the driver and he pulled over and began to open the skylight things in the middle of the roof. The one beside us opened and I was looking at it longing for the moment the bus took off and we would get a breeze of cool air in the sauna we were travelling in.

Alas, when he went to the second skylight, it wasn't attached to anything and wouldn't go back, so we were stranded at the side of the road, cooking at the side of the road. (You should be able to see the steamed up windows



And we had to wait for a bus to come from Newry to bring us on to Dublin. So we sat and waited on the sauna bus until some people got off, against the driver's wishes and stood on the hard shoulder getting some air. I followed them at one stage along with half of the bus and was thrilled to see the rescue bus drive up behind us some time later.



Of course the heating was on again on the next bus but it wasn't anywhere near the Sub-Saharan temperatures from earlier and having left Belfast at 6pm we finally hit Dublin at 9.30pm. So as that song goes, or something like this anyway, next time I think I'm gonna take the train.

When I finally got home, after getting a long glass of water I came back into the living room to find the Young Wan and the doggie delving into the case of things I bought in Belfast. And I swear the dog was looking as much as herself, 'whats for me whats for me'. Fortunately they both got something each, treats for the doggie and crazy tights for herself. I'm wrecked now; what a way to spend Bank Holiday Monday.





(When I locate all the last week's 365 I'll post them, hopefully tomorrow; so much to do so little time.)

Commuting

More commuting pics.


Waiting on the bus and pull out my camera


Getting bored and planting stickers


Seats are not for feet

Tips for travelling on the bus - for the selfish travelling commuter

RIGHT you asked for it, you know who you are. I'm talking about selfish commuters who must feel somehow that because they have bought a ticket that they own the bus. This post is for you because you obviously do not know how to travel on the bus, where others are travelling too. Hopefully after this post all our journeys can be more pleasant.

As you can probably tell I had one of 'those' bus journeys home this evening, couple the selfish traveller with rain, umbrellas and lots of other people trying to get home and oh it just wasn't nice.

My rant is against the obviously clueless (well I guess they must be clueless, maybe it is just pure and utter selfishness) commuter and in particular the one who irked me this evening, sitting at the end of a seat who think that doing so makes the whole seat theirs; no matter how much you pretend not to notice the bus is packed to the gills. Rather like those drivers who drive into yellow boxes and sit poker-straight staring out the front of the car and not at the hoards of cars honking their horns who are legally turning into the yellow box the poker-straight driver has kept them out of.

I have also noticed that the people who sit at the end of a seat, whether it is on a bus or indeed a train normally read as if pretending to be engrossed in a book somehow distracts the perpretrator from the surrounding dirty looks. I think I would feel that amount of annoyance directed at me.

This evening despite the crowded bus, despite the rain, this woman sat perched on the end of the seat at the back making it doubly hard for anyone to take the seat beside her. Adapting this trick by placing a bag on the seat next to you also doesn't wash. And I am not talking about someone who has got on a semi-empty bus who falls over themselves to pick up their bag and move over when they see people moving up towards the seat.

So the first pic illustrates what not to do:



And this demonstrates what to do.

Don't do that here - Grumpy Old Woman part 6

THIS is less of a grumpy old woman post and more of a 'I can't believe that filthy beast just did that and I want to kick him' post.

A man got on the number 10 in Phibsboro this morning and took the seat on the top deck opposite me. But before he sat down he leaned forward from the waist up, covered one side of his nose with his finger and proceeded to blow and empty his nose just like footballers do on the pitch.

Honestly he really did, and sorry to those of you with weak stomachs. I know I had one after that.

In what world is that acceptable, besides his of course. It is absolutely vile, vile, vile..

This surely tops the list of unbelievably nasty things people do on buses, like men scratching themselves as if they are alone or clipping your nails. Stop it, it is nasty and repulsive.




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