Silverlink Standard Pace

On Thursday Robbie went to a gig in London, to see a group called Bromhead's Jacket. His gig buddy Laura wasn't able to go with him, GCSE coursework deadlines kept her imprisoned in her bedroom. That turned out to be a blessing in disguise because rail services via Milton Keynes went pear shaped that day, the strong wind had brought the overhead wires down.

Robbie decided that nothing would prevent him getting to his gig and he travelled from Birmingham via Reading to Paddington, then across London to the gig. I was treated to a step by step progress report by text, that wasn't too bad, but the phone calls with station announcements in the background nearly burst my eardrums. Robbie enjoys his gigs and I am happy for him to go providing that I don't have to go too, I don't like noise and I can't cope with crowds so they are not really my thing.

He sent me a couple of texts during the gig, but I was already asleep when he rang to say he was heading home. He had to get a bus from Milton Keynes so it was close to 2am when he arrived home. He has never been able to come to bed quietly, when he sits down on the bed he practically bounces me onto the floor! This time he was not that subtle, he shook me awake - living dangerously! He wanted to know if the dog had been fed - of course she had been fed. He then gave me an in depth account of his evening, the journey, people he met, the venue, the merchandise, he went on and on and on. He bored me back to sleep, but he still didn't shut up and when he jolted me awake again I threatened that if he didn't shut up he would learn to sing so high that he could join the Bee Gee's . It must have worked because the next thing I heard was the alarm clock!

Robbie said train services were still messed up on Friday morning, but I didn't realise the severity until I went to the station on Friday evening. It was bedlam, there were coaches all over the place, and yellow coated men moving around at Silverlink standard pace, frantically waving their arms and talking on mobile phones. For those not 'lucky' enough to live near a Silverlink station, I need to explain Silverlink standard pace, I wouldn't call it slow, more funereal! In fact if you look at the lugubrious faces they possess, you could be forgiven for thinking that Silverlink was running a rehabilitation program for ex undertakers. You would be wrong, you have to take two other factors into account to get to the truth, the austere uniform and the absolute refusal to divulge any useful information to passengers. It then becomes obvious that the KGB was not disbanded, it has diversified! No wonder I hear so many eastern european accents in town these days!