That's a wrap

Food shopping done this morning, the centrepiece was delivered this afternoon, and the presents are wrapped.  I reckon we're fairly well prepared.

Without wanting to comment on the merits of their actions, I am rapidly losing all patience and sympathy with the railway and postal workers.  We were, of course, affected last week when we had to cancel our trains to York and drive up instead.  Tomorrow, W's sister is coming down from the North West to spend Christmas with us.  She lives alone and rarely sees anyone, so always looks forward to her visits.  Last year we collected her from Peterborough but that is a 70 mile drive each way for us whereas Norwich is only 20 miles each way, so this year we looked for trains that would take her all the way to Norwich.  We pay for her rail ticket and send it to her in the post, and found an ideal train where she wouldn't need to change.  We bought the tickets and posted them to her.

Just over two weeks ago we were notified that her booked train had been cancelled due to the strikes.  There were no alternatives for Norwich so we found her a train to Peterborough with one change at Doncaster.  We printed the tickets and posted them to her straight away, using first class post.  We kept checking with her, but they didn't arrive.  She doesn't have a printer or smartphone so couldn't get them 'online', so in the end we arranged to email them to an elderly Aunt and Uncle who live a couple of miles away from her so they could print them and get them to her.  Almost as soon as we sent the email we heard that the uncle had been taken into hospital with chest pains (fortunately, on the day before the ambulance drivers strike); he needed a stent and was operated on straight away which went well.  But in the meantime, the Aunt did what she could to print the tickets.

This morning, the original tickets arrived in the post.  This afternoon, W's sister's train was cancelled due to strike action.  I'll say no more.