Thank y'all - Birthday River Trip to Islip

All,

I'd just like to thank you for braving the dangers of the wild weather, raging river and Ralph's a la carte 'baked, on glowing embers to an unrecognisable black crisp, sweet potatoes', to make my twenty tenth birthday such a good one. Especially, I'd like to thank my lovely wife Fran, who, despite knowing I loathe the thought of surprises, somehow arranged you rowdy lot to secretly crash our supposed romantic riverside weekend.

A little rain Saturday night was no match for Paul's tent which appeared to have been designed as emergency housing for half of Oxfordshire. I don't know why he even bothered with a tent given that the only time he got out of the river all weekend was to get back on the rope swing. Ian, on an apparently sponsored sleepathon, didn't notice the weather either way, despite being camped in a tent half the size of himself from which his feet comically protruded. Ruth couldn't be bothered with a tent at all and instead took the opportunity for a nighttime swim during which she apparently got attacked by a submerged tree monster. Scott kept us all amused by pouring whiskey on the fire and generally playing the fool, although this year he DID refrain from pretending to fall in the river when we were all asleep - I think he was too busy trying to cuddle up to poor Louis who will no doubt be bringing his own tent in future. Rumour has it that Louis' tent resembles a nasa comms outpost but he couldn't bring it because the hydroelectric module is still under construction.

My birthday kayak, from Fran, mum and dad and in law's was duly christened 'Dragonfly'. Being an inflatable, smashing Pete's bottle of champagne against her hull for the occasion was out of the question, so sadly, we had to drink it instead. She was put through her paces by everyone from Fran who forgot the paddle was double ended and subsequently rowed herself around in perpetual circles, to Melissa who failed to grasp the basic exit criteria of maintaining the centre of gravity and promptly pitched herself into the river, to Heather and Ralph who narrowly avoided a domestic working out who was going in the driving seat. Hugh later disappeared on the craft for several hours and was reputedly spotted by the locals racing punts through central Oxford.

Heather and Fran spent the last 6 months baking yummy vegan cakes which was great as I got to blow out candles at least 5 times, but unfortunately, Pete had one slice too many causing the dramatic collapse of his borrowed tesco value camping chair. Carolyn made a cameo appearance to ensure everyone was up to date on the history of absolutely everything for the last 2 years while Esther played musical chairs / logs around the campfire trying to avoid taking up smoking. The too cool for school competition was decided when Joakim and Susy pitched up on Sunday with the most English looking picnic basket I've ever laid eyes on, replete with real cups and plates and wine and all sorts of other goodies. I understand Philip wowed you all with a wonderful poetry recital which lasted the exact half hour that Nick was feebly trying to row me back up the raging torrent of the Cherwell in the kayak, so sadly I missed it; he did bring mighty fine flapjack though so I'll let him off. Lorna took a few lessons in survival from Ralph, such as chopping wood, and went on to lead a successful navy seal style search and rescue mission for her glasses, deposited at the bottom of theriver after a particularly magnificent swing off the rope. Even Billy, Cob and Daisy showed up but promptly disappeared upon discovering what Ralph had cooked them for dinner.

Seriously though, beautiful people, lovely gifts, and much riverside fun, was more than I could have asked for. Thank you all very much for making it so special, to Fran for organising and Ralph and Heather for assisting. If you have any photo's, do email them through. Until next time...

Lxx

Welsh Million Metre Peaks Race: Results

Hoorah, the results are finally out, despite nearly two thirds of entrants dropping out, getting lost in the fog or being airlifted to safety! Apart from that and the mach2 gales and 6 feet of rainfall, we had a great time. The freezing mists of Avalon were out in force everywhere, and sadly my hands were too numb with cold to undo my rucksack, otherwise I would have delighted you all with a photo of D with frost and icicles on his face. Instead, I've attached a photo of me at the finishing line with red flannel shorts....

news: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/8087297.stm
results (we're in mountaineers category): http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/crescentcccweb/races/09r1000f.pdf

Also some nice piccies of D being taken to safety ;)

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/TyeNoodle/ThousandMetreRace09#5344276155010734434
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/TyeNoodle/ThousandMetreRace09#5344279544113635314
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/TyeNoodle/ThousandMetreRace09#5344279917819820514
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/TyeNoodle/ThousandMetreRace09#5344279571780604898

After all the fun we had, Ralph's considering entering next year - any other takers?

Welsh Million Metre Peaks Race

Here we go again, weather is scheduled to be downright awful including gales, snow and fog so expect not to see either of us again for several days / weeks. You can see when we finish here: http://www.gorphwysfaclub.org.uk/ click 1000 metre peaks race, and follow links for live finishing. We are both class B / Mountaineers.

Weather details at the met office here: http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/loutdoor/mountainsafety/snowdonia/snowdonia_latest_pressure.html although I'd suggest not clicking on it too frequently as there appears to be a direct relationship between clicking the link and worsening the results.

Hazards	Risk	Explanation
Blizzards	Low	Low risk on the mountain peaks above 900 metres during the afternoon and evening.
Heavy snow	Low	Low risk on the mountain peaks above 900 metres during the afternoon and evening.
Storm force winds	No Risk
Gales	Low	Easterly winds expected to gust to as high as 50 mph on exposed ridges and peaks.
Severe chill effect	Low	Significant wind chill expected at higher altitudes.
Persistent and extensive hill fog	Medium	For much of the day above 600 metres, especially across the north and east of the Park.
Thunderstorms	Low	Low risk of isolated lightning in association with heavy rain during the afternoon and evening.
Heavy persistent rain	High	Rain expected to turn increasingly heavy and persistent during the afternoon.

Hope your weekend is more enjoyable than ours! Much love.

Snowborating 2008

Best of our snowboarding 2008. Shot on location in La Plagne, France. Starring Louis, Luke & Scott and a 6 foot snowman. Produced and edited by Luke. Thanks to Fran for assisting with titles!

The George Witch Project

A 2008 boxing day short with Fran and George!

Ticket Refund Request: Response From First Great Western

From: FGW Customer Relations <fgw.feedback@firstgroup.com>
Date: Sun, Mar 9, 2008 at 10:43 AM
Subject: Case Ref: 3853903
To:


First Great Western
Customer Services Team
FREEPOST
SWB40576
Plymouth
PL4 6ZZ

Tel: 08457 000 125
Fax: 08456 008 363
fgwfeedback@firstgroup.com

www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk

Ref: 3853903

Dear Mr

Thank you for your email of 6 March. I was very sorry to hear that you missed your train on your journey from Bristol Temple Meads to Henley on 23 February. I know how frustrating this can be but the train doors were locked because we had already started to dispatch the train. We lock the doors about 40 seconds before a train is due to leave, for passenger safety and to avoid delays.

Our Train Manager was following our very strict procedure, as normal. The doors are locked when the platform staff signal that the doors are clear, which they do when the track signal is green and the train has been cleared to leave the platform. Once the doors are locked the platform staff give a second signal to the Train Manager, who tells the driver it's safe to take the train out.

We never send out a train against a red signal, so the doors remain open until the signal goes green. However, once the signals are green the doors stay locked, as it would be dangerous to open them when the train could be sent out at any moment.

Although I am sorry that you could not board your train, I have to point out that it is up to passengers to make sure they are on board before the departure time.

I understand that you are disappointed that you had to purchase another ticket for travel on 23 February as you had missed the service your Advance tickets were valid for. These Advance Purchase tickets have very strict conditions, which allows us to offer them for such a reasonable price.

I regret that one of the conditions of the Advance ticket is that it is only valid on the time of service printed on the ticket and also carries no refund value after purchase and therefore I will be unable to offer you any reimbursement on your ticket. I appreciate that this will be a disappointment to you. I am sorry that you were not aware of this when you purchased your tickets but it is the customer's responsibility to ensure that they are fully aware of the restrictions of their tickets. I also cannot offer you a refund on your full price ticket as we can only offer refunds on unused tickets or if you had to abandon your journey.

I understand that despite planning ahead, buying in advance, choosing an off-peak train, buying a single ticket and being flexible, you were not happy with your journey but, as mentioned before, it is the customer's responsibility to leave enough time to pick up tickets and board the train and also that they are aware of the restrictions of their ticket.

I also note your comments regarding the number of Fast Ticket Machines at the station and I have passed these comments on to the Station Manager. I was very sorry to hear you had such an unusually long wait at Bristol Temple Meads booking office. I realise how frustrating and inconvenient it is to queue when your train is due.

Whilst we aim to avoid queues building up, there are times when we have more customers than usual and the waiting time goes up as well. We're constantly monitoring the number of staff in the booking office and if a queue forms we open extra windows whenever we can. I am sorry we couldn't do this while you were queuing but it isn't always possible, especially when there are no extra staff available.

On this occasion, the service we delivered was not up to our usual high standard, so I will be happy to send you £49.00 in Rail Travel Vouchers to cover the amount you had to pay on the later service. So that I can do this please send your original journey tickets and proof of the excess paid to the above address and quote reference number 3853903.

Once again, I am sorry you missed your train, but I hope I have managed to explain the background clearly for you, and that future journeys with us will be trouble-free.

Thank you for contacting First Great Western.

Yours sincerely


Helen Hall
Customer Services Advisor

FirstInfo Limited, registered in England and Wales
Registration number: 2180352
Registered address: 50 Eastbourne Terrace, Paddington, London, W2 6LX

**********************************************************************
This message is confidential. It may not be disclosed to, or used by,
anyone other than the addressee. If you receive this message in
error, please advise us immediately.

Internet email is not necessarily secure. First does not accept
responsibility for changes to any email which occur after the email
has been sent. Attachments to this email could contain software
viruses which could damage your system. First have checked the
attachments for viruses before sending, but you should virus-check
them before opening.

For more information on our range of services or to book your tickets
online, please visit:- http://www.firstgroup.com
**********************************************************************

First Great Western: Ticket Refund Request

From:

Date: Thu, Mar 6, 2008 at 4:10 PM
Subject: Ticket Refund: First Great Western
To: fgwfeedback@firstgroup.com

Re: Ticket Reservation 9CWXHB34

Dear Sir or Madam,

I recently ventured back on to the British railways following a lengthy abstinence after the debacles of 2000 - 2001 which cost all of us so much time, money and lost business. In the meantime, a two year assignment in Switzerland had not only restored my confidence in public transport, but positively won me over to it.

So when a recent opportunity arose for me to put the British system back to the test to attend a friends wedding, I jumped at the chance and purchased a single advance ticket from Bristol Temple Meads to Henley on Thames for 23rd February for a very reasonable £19 on your website. It was with disappointment to find that the system would not allow me to print the newly purchased ticket immediately, but instead that I would have to take my reservation details to the station to obtain a print of the ticket . This in mind, I duly arrived with 15 minutes to spare, but was less than pleased to discover that a mere four self service terminals were available and queues for these, and the main ticket office, extended right back to the doors of the station. Twelve minutes later, tickets finally in hand, I made a quick dash to the platform and with a full forty five seconds still to spare, approached the carriage door and turned the handle, musing that this was a rather novel method for door opening in a 21st century developed nation.

It was at this point that I noticed four or five station guards running at me from both the left and the right, arms flailing and yelling incomprehensibly. Looking around to discover the source of their excitement, it dawned on me that it was I to whom this cacophony was directed, in a somewhat uncivilised attempt to prevent me boarding. Checking the station clock, I pointed at that, with forty seconds to spare, there ought to be no problem allowing me to board but sadly, to no avail. I noticed several other would be passengers who had presumably suffered a similar fate bemoaning this appalling treatment.

One hour's wait later, aboard the next service, I thought that the troubles of the day were over, and in spite of missing my lunch appointment, would still be in time for the wedding. Alas, this illusion was shattered by the ticket collector kindly enlightening me to the fact that my ticket was not valid on this train, having only been valid on the 1030 train for which I had originally booked. Asking to whom I might enter mitigating circumstances, he informed me that I could do so to him, but in spite my best explanation, I was still refused permission to travel on my ticket and was thus relieved of a further £49 in order to be allowed to continue my journey and was not allowed to use my original unused ticket to offset the cost.

Perhaps you would be so kind as to compare the following five points on 'How to get the best value tickets' that you recommend on your website with my own travelling experience described above.

How to get the best value tickets

• Plan ahead.
• Buy in advance.
• Choose to travel on off-peak trains.
• Buy single tickets not returns.
• Try to be flexible as to when you can travel.

Despite planning ahead, buying in advance, choosing to travel on off-peak trains, buying a single ticket AND being flexible with my travel time, I still ended up incurring a total cost of £68 for a one way ticket to Henley on Thames and being an hour later than expected.

Therefore, I would be most greatful if you would refund the £49 costs incurred due to the lack of online ticket printing functionality, the failure of the station operator to provide an efficient ticket printing service, the failure of the guards to allow me on my intended train in spite of my arriving on time and your own lack of flexibility in terms of ticket charging and transfers. A copy of all tickets are attached.

Further Feedback:

Boarding Times:

Nowhere can I find in your website and passengers charter any reference to boarding rules, leaving me even more bemused as to why I was prevented from boarding with a plentiful forty seconds to spare. I kindly request that you would consider making such rules more clear on your website and charter. I am aware that other UK operators request boarding sixty seconds prior to departure and lock the doors thirty seconds prior to departure. A sensible measure which at least prevents guards exerting themselves as they did in my case, and instead allowing them to smugly watch as latecomers try in vain to open the doors.

Self Service:

Furthermore, you will have already noted my displeasure at the meagre assignment of self service machines to such a major station, and I believe it would be in everyone's interest if you took this up with the appropriate persons in an effort to have enough installed to properly service your customers.

Pricing Structure:

Finally, I find it ironic, that in spite of my own flexibility in travel, something you have recommended, you would refuse to be flexible in your own ticketing system regarding transfer to an alternative service. I am riled by the fact that the ticket pricing and booking structure is so complicated. Why should one be penalised by so heavily for failing to make an advance booking? I understand that early sales puts money in the coffers and allows you to plan train capacity, but do such enormously high prices for on the day tickets not suppress the spontaneity of travel by the British public and unfairly hit those without advance booking facilities the hardest?

I look forward to a swift refund of the outstanding sum and an acknowledgement of the feedback provided.

Best Regards,