I’m sitting on the platform at Chelmsford Railway Station with thirty minutes to spare due a power failure near Stratford, my train is delayed, by half an hour. Think about it, it is nearly the year 2006 and we still cant get power to our trains.
What is that all about?
Honestly. Each time the automated lady announces the delays everyone on the platform looks up at the overhead speaker, mutters, shake their heads, and get back to doing nothing. I could have left the station and walked back to work, and sat at my desk in Ultralab but why would I do that when I can sit here for thirty minutes? I’m not being distracted by work or email, I’m not looking at those pointless websites that we all look at when we’ve got nothing to do, or I’m not trying to fix bugs or errors associated to my work, right now I’m doing something I don’t get the chance to do often, I’m reflecting on a real life situation, when technology has let me down.
I’m cold, I’m sitting on a make do seat on Platform Two, no train is in sight on my side of the tracks, but train after train after train trundles through Platform One from the other direction heading towards London.
It’s really really cold, really really cold. I can see my breath as my back is really cold as I rest against a wall. There are only three benches on the platform, not very good is it really, having to sit on a cold wall. Ten people can sit comfy on the platform seating, the rest, tough.
