First World Problems Indeed

(A post complaining about WiFi that was so bad it wouldn’t post until I got to my hotel)

Today I am doing something which I have had booked for a while but that I have not exactly been looking forward to. I am currently sat on a National Express coach somewhere along the M1 which I know a bit like the back of my hand these days. Financially this was my only option of how to get myself to Edinburgh this weekend, and if you’ve seen me recently you must have heard me enthusiastically say that this journey cost me the grand total of thirteen pounds as opposed to the train or plane or the craziness that might have been driving this myself. I have also been full of the nerves and anxieties that I get about things like this. What if the coach was to crash? Or to break down? What if I end up sat next to someone who wants to talk the whole way? What if the WiFi doesn’t work?

London in the hazy morning sun

I initially was not at all impressed. I had a headache, the coach station was full with people all slightly grumpy at an unearthly hour of the morning, and once I actually found the coach I was supposed to be on hidden behind another one that was going to Aberdeen I discovered that there were no USB charging ports in my seat like I had been promised online. Perhaps that was a lot to wish for when paying thirteen pounds. The WiFi does work, but that is a bit of an overstatement. It’s enough to load Twitter but not any pictures or videos on Twitter, we all know that kind of poor WiFi.

Leeds was rainy and quite noisy

Newcastle was even rainier

However I am three hours into my journey, it took an hour to get out of London but now we are well on our way North and I am feeling a little brighter after a snooze with my face smooshed up against the window. I was going to use this time to do some work, watch a couple of documentaries I had my eye on and listen to some cracking podcasts I had lined up. However, I desperately need to conserve my phone battery for my arrival to find my way to my hotel and my tablet is sat at a dwindling 59%. So how am I filling my time? Well I’ve always been quite pleased that books are a good back up, and they can’t run out of battery. I’ve got two with me, Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? By Caitlin Doughty is my first and I’m about thirty pages in and loving it. I’ve napped a lot and I’m quite good at napping in small spaces which I’m proud of. Seems to have shifted my headache too which is good. I’ve got a little supply oh healthy food and snacks keeping me going too.

Finished this in one go, what a fab book!

I’m not entirely sure that after doing this journey in reverse on Sunday I will want to ever travel this way again but I try to put these things down as experiences and that’s that. I’m also not even close to being halfway in this initial journey yet either. I just hope that on my wandering about once I arrive I find a shop with a cheap power pack I can pick up for tomorrow.

(Edit: I didn’t because everywhere was shut. So I bought chocolate instead!)

MG x