It took something ridiculous to get to That London this morning. I stopped counting after 4.5 hours. Barakta reckons it was more like 5.
And then we had to use the Tube... 
5hr15 mins from Mordor to Euston. That should have taken 2hr20 at most.
08:08am all looked fine on the live screens.
08:30am Late at mordor cos taxi was late (grrrr) train to Euston has vanished and seems to be replaced with one to Rugby, we're confused and the screens are saying mostly Rugby with flashes of Euston... We get told by staff to get on it and change at Rugby... We jump on train initially standing but I get a seat and grab one for Kim at Mordor International. Train does indeed terminate at Rugby.
Nonsense on the screens at Rugby followed eventually by an ironic announcement saying the screens had a 'fault' which a deaf person would not have heard. Hardly any staff to be seen at many parts of station.
5 separate sets of nonsense from Rugby staff (backup to nonsense screens and inaudible announcements) including:
* Telling us to board a train we'd just got off claiming it was going to London, it wasn't, we got told to get off 2 mins later.
* The most annoying nonsense was sending us out into the POURING rain with no shelter for bustitution some way out of the station where the bus was locked and driverless and no station staff were nearby. Driver showed up after over ten mins and didn't know his destination so we weren't getting on that. When we returned to station entrance to go "wtf" they said "oh yeah, wait here" (still in pouring rain) and were running around giggling and shouting into walkie talkies but not giving clear or coherent advice to passengers now cold wet and getting understandably annoyed... Kim went to loo and on her return other staff told us something else which basically indicated buses weren't necessary!
Got told to get on a Virgin train which was at platform but the doors wouldn't open despite people being inside. Gave up and asked another human who told us another train to board which eventually after about 30 mins set off, but no announcements ON the train and lots of people confused cos they'd been told different things. Train was due to go to Euston but was terminated at Milton Keynes which we'd worked out would happen AAAGES before they deigned to tell us (or indeed I suspect the poor driver).
Countless lies on the screens at Milton Keynes "train from platform $Foo to Euston due in 4, 3, 2, 1, 0, -1, -2 minutes" before going "delayed" and then back to countdown and delayed repeatedly. We spent 30 mins in the fucking cold for that. I could have got a cup of tea in a cafe and been WARM until a train was ready IF information had been not-lies.
Then announcement told us of train which DID appear ON platform (most weren't appearing so we knew the announcements were lies) which we boarded only to be told 2 mins later was terminating at MK so EVERYONE had to get off... Why announce this for MK people if it's not true? That's just going to piss people off, it pissed me off!
There were multiple instances of staff YELLING instructions from platforms at both Rugby and Milton Keynes which were not even audible to me as having happened and I couldn't hear them even when they did. Staff were mobbed so couldn't be accessed to REPEAT their info clearly, and we'd have been at the back of the crowd.
We missed a Midland train which left MK cos we were waiting for the lying boards train to arrive at our platform. We had countless running up and down stairs and concourses cos of BAD information.
Eventually we got told of a London Euston train which was departing, we had to run to the FAR end just to fit on, and were standing all the fucking way. The nice shop lady wouldn't let me pay for tea tho (ungrumble) and she gave away cans of juice and water to those in our area standing which was nice.
All that walking, running and standing has buggered my hips which I am going to have issues with for days. I understand it is hard with the situation but I struggle to justify the EPIC information provision fail. They would have been better saying "We do not yet know, wait in warm places and we will update you audibly and visually at sensible times as soon as we can".
I will be writing a complaint cos I would have been even more fucked without Kim. Had we been given sensible information, I suspect we wouldn't have travelled, but we were prevented from that by BAD information and it was easier to push onto London than try and return to Birmingham.
