147 years

I've left the house! Rejoice rejoice! To prove it, this is Chislehurst Station. The first commuters left from here 147 years ago. I can't help wondering whether those early London drones had to endure points failures due the wrong variety of snow? Actually, it can't have been a pleasant experience back then either. Just a month before this station was opened, 10 people were killed in a rail crash in Kent. Charles Dickens was amongst the survivors.

So I wonder about those first commuters... whoever they were they were probably humming Onward Christian Soldiers (a hot tune back then) and maybe even reading the fresh-off-the-press Alice's Adventures In Wonderland (published the same week the station opened). Whoever the first commuter was, I'll be he wasn't like me. For a kick-off, he was bound to be a bloke. In fact, I've probably got far more in common with Alice that the man in the stovepipe hat waiting for the 06.58 to Cannon Street. Actually, I often feel like Alice.... my wonderland is full of nutters too.

Good night all