Just a simple journey ... (not!)

Sometimes, the most simple and mundane tasks become very complicated....

It was Saturday. Mum and I were going to Southampton for a look around the shops ( more variety there ). Nothing unusual there , we had done it countless times before. We would catch a bus to Fareham, walk to the train station, then take a train to Southampton. A simple shopping trip .... which turned into a bit of an epic journey.

All was going to plan until we reached the train station. We had bought our tickets, and were walking to our designated platform, when we saw a notice detailing engineering work on the lines that weekend .... affecting trains to Southampton Central ... BOTHER !. If I had seen that BEFORE buying the tickets, we would have probably changed our plans, and gone shopping in Fareham or Portsmouth instead. But never mind - we had our tickets, and didn't want to waste them. Work on the lines didn't make the journey impossible, just a little more complicated ( buses replacing the train for a portion of it ). So, we waited for the train.

Two trains were due within 5 minutes or so, both terminating a few stops before Southampton itself (but at different stations to each other ). The first one arrived while I was still debating which one we wanted ... quickly decided that one would do, so stepped onto it, turned around .... and saw the doors close in front of me - and Mum still standing on the platform. She hadn't followed me ... and then things got worse. I tried to open the door again, but it wouldn't open .... and then the train pulled off ! PANIC ! I had to think fast. I knew the next train due would be taking basically the same route to Southampton, so Mum could catch that one ..... but I had no way of knowing if she would or if she would just stay standing on the platform ( in my infinite wisdom, I had forgotten to take my mobile with me, so could not call her to find out ). I took a chance, and got off the train at the next station. The info boards said the following train ( the one Mum might have caught ) would stop there too - I just had to hope she had. The second train arrived after the longest five minutes of my life, and as it pulled in, I looked frantically in the windows, trying to see Mum. I couldn't ( windows tinted, and train going too fast ) ... my heart sank. Just then, the doors to that train opened, and a guard stepped out and looking at me, asked if he could help as I looked lost. I explained what had happened .... and he said he thought someone matching my story WAS on the train, in the next carriage. Quickly, I stepped on that train, made my way to the next carriage .... and there, sitting in the corner, looking just as lost as me was Mum!. It seems fate was smiling on me ....

After that *little* hiccup, we both continue the journey together to where the train terminated. We still hadn't reached central Southampton, just the outskirts ( Woolston) - the rest of the trip would be by a 'rail replacement service' ... ie: a bus. Leaving the station, we looked around ... but couldn't see any bus, or anyone to ask about where it might be ( Woolston is only a small station - ticket machine, platform and not a lot else  ). Perhaps fate wasn't smiling on me after all. I couldn't just stand there all day ...... decided there was nothing for it - we would walk the rest of the way ( it wasn't miles and miles, but it wasn't a five minute stroll either ). So that is what we did ... and eventually, by bus, train and foot , we reached West Quay and the shops. What should have been a quick 30 minute trip by rail turned into an hour and a half epic trek ..... we were both shattered , and hadn't even hit the shops yet !

We didn't end up spending that much time shopping in the end ... somehow all the appeal had faded away ( no idea why ..... ;-) ). After an hour or so, we steeled ourselves for the return leg of our adventure. Thankfully, it went a lot smoother than the trip in. Found a rail replacement bus to take us back to Woolston, then after a bit of a wait ( and a bit of a scrum @ the station ... seemed most of the Southampton-bound trains were stopping there ... cue a lot of people and luggage, most who didn't really know where they were ... ) a direct train back to Fareham, and finally a bus ride home. All in all, a morning shopping spree had turned into a six hour test on my nerves and energy ... all because of engineering work on the lines. I think, next time, I will check the train availablity on-line BEFORE leaving home .... and make sure Mum is with me before I step on board anything !! Don't think I want to repeat that experience anytime soon, thank you very much .....