Today I shall be Mainly...

[Sue]

Phew! I've been on tenterhooks all afternoon.

So have I .

[Sue]

Through the tunnel London in 25 minutes

[Big Kev]

Hurrah!

[Stanley]

So glad to see that you made it Sue.... Now I need to know what you did, book into a hotel or forward towards the North!
(Please don't go on holiday with this lot again.... It's too stressful for us stay at homes!
I shall be in the shed as usual for my morning session of occupational therapy. After second sleep nothing seems to be on my social calendar. Perhaps some light laundry and other housework is indicated......

[Sue]

Morning

Stanley we crossed the road from the station and have stayed in St Pancras Premier Inn overnight. Another couple also stayed here so we had a pleasant meal and a chat in the restaurant. We have a train to Leeds at 10 ,30 this morning and then onwards to Rochdale sometime in the early afternoon.

As for the holiday the part run by the Great Rail Journeys Company was superb , and this was agreed by pir whole party . The boat, food and facilities was extremely good with well organised guided tours daily. We certainly got to see the countries we passed through in the boat experiencing the history, the culture and the beauty and wewould certainly do something similar with this company again . They also responded very quickly finding us a coach for our 6 hour journey with very little notice , but obviously they could only book what was available at such short notice

However we would chose our mode of transport carefully in future and avoid anything to do with German railways if we can. On reflection we should have flown but we wanted to see the countryside as we travelled . Their trains may be comfortable but what we experienced is apparently typical of the way they run. Its not just the railways . Whilst out and about we were not impressed with 1 euro for toilets when often the toilets were not working or had so few cubicles the system could not cope with coach parties. Turnstiles let us in one at a time which took nearly all the time we had for a break yesterday. On one occasion we stopped and the toilets in the service area were ALL not functioning . I thought the area should have been closed as I thought there are supposed to be hand washing facilities where food is sold and eaten The men relieved themselves in traditional male way but it meant we had to stop again at another one for the ladies when time was already precious. The coach we were in had a toilet that was not functioning either and the free wifi was non existant. Again none of these issues are the travel companies fault. My overall impression is that public services and transport in Germany is dirty, non functioning , in efficient and lacks investment. What a comparison to the UK and France that we know so well .

Even when buying sandwiches or using facilities some only wanted cash others only a card. We had limited coins between us and there was a lot of sharing of change going on. I felt as tourists we were not made to feel welcome with few bilingual notices. All in all we felt thankful to be British. As we parted yesterday evening we had become quite a close knit group of fellow travellers and in a typically British way were beginning to laugh considerably about our adventures.

One thing that upset me was the way our courier and company representative, that guided us across this rail system , was blamed by some of the party for the things that went wrong when none of it was his fault. Sadly some were temporarily inconvenienced by some of the decisions he made but those decisions were always in good faith for the well being of the group. Bob and I feel he looked after us well, and was constantly having to think on his feet to resolve the issues that arose. We will make sure the tour company know that. As with all groups like this there was a core of moaners who did not listen to what was going on and what had caused the issues, as I pointed out to them the Company did not double book tickets, it was the compter system of ICE that sold tickets that had actually already been sold to the tour company some months before .

Needless to say as we walked out of the staion last night we were glad to be home, despite the rain falling on our heads, but would we do the same holiday again, yes we would but knowing what we know now we would fly rather than battle with the infrastructure of Germany. Today should be a relaxed if damp journey home. Have a good day all. Oh yes you may have noticed the time, my bodythinks its an hour later as I have been awake since 5 a.m

[Stanley]

Morning Sue. What a positive report despite your experiences! I'm glad that you eventually got back to London and found a bed so easily. I hope you have a pleasant trip North on what promises to be a day of sunny intervals and showers.



An unexpected problem this morning, a first, never happened to me before. I was working on the clevis to get some shape in the end and the thinnest leg broke off. I had to search my scrap box for a piece of brass that I could get a 5/32" blank out of. That took a while and I had to cut it out of a larger casting. Then I set to to get it to size. That's where I stopped and went looking for breakfast, there is no rush!

[Big Kev]

Feeding the roses with Tomorite, I have no idea what I'm doing but they keep growing

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[Tripps]

Splendid. . . Well done.

I have long worked on the principle that gardens prosper - despite, not because of, what you do to them.

However you've deffo got it right this time

Yes, you can use Tomorite (a tomato fertilizer) on roses. Tomorite is high in potassium, which promotes healthy blooms and can improve a rose's disease resistance. It's recommended to apply it during the growing season, particularly after the first bloom, to encourage a second flush of flowers.

[Big Kev]

Thank you