Travelling to Theatres (and back) by Public Transport

Currently on the usual two carriage train to Leeds. If I had my way, there would be no single sex groups of more than three, strictly no fancy dress and no alcohol...other than real ale. 😡

Hen, stags and groups of Lads™️ going to the footy are the worst offenders. Cosplayers going to comic con are usually fine (given that they're usually introverted nerds)

As a young woman, there’s a very particular terror in being in a carriage at night with a bunch of boozed up lads out for the night. All you can do is keep your head down and hope they keep to themselves…

TFL has announced strikes on the underground from November 3rd until November 12.

We've been caught into it, we bought train tickets a few weeks ago for November 7 to see a matinee, and it would just be hit/miss getting to the theater on time, and I can't deal with all that stress, so we cut our losses for 1 train ticket (luckily "only" 13£) and we bought another single ticket which gets us to London 3 hours before show time.

There is no logic to the system in most cases. I avoid LNER and Avanti as much as possible.

I'm going to Manchester in December for a weekday matinee of Spend Spend Spend at the Royal Exchange.. Direct Avanti train Euston to Manchester advance fare without railcard booked now costs between £32 and £42. Splitting into two journeys Euston to Crewe and Crewe to Manchester costs just over £15 although the journey time is extended by over an hour. With my senior railcard I've booked that longer journey on two trains leaving Euston at 9.46 totalling just over £10 to Manchester arriving 13.20. Returning Manchester to Euston would be same fares and similar journey times. 

The difference between National Rail prices and National Express coaches is even greater. I have to use National Express to get from my home town to London Victoria in the morning at a reasonable cost - just £3.80 booked now with coachcard discount.  It's £24 on the train as the senior railcard is not valid before 9am in SE England. I then walk, bus or tube to Euston.

I've chosen to return from Manchester to London Victoria direct on the 17.45 coach for just £5.90,  Takes up to twice as long of course but a huge saving over train fares. Total cost of my trip is around £25. I could get it down below £20 by doing the whole trip by coach but the times don't work out as the 14.10 scheduled arrival in Manchester is too tight for a 14.30 curtain up. By car, fuel alone for 500 miles would be about three times the cost.

There are some dark forces at work at the moment working against me with train travel to theatre shows -

1. Playing Nancy - Left Birmingham New Street at 6pm on a Saturday a few weeks ago and due to an incident on the line just outside Stafford the whole line between Liverpool and Birmingham was shut. We got as far an Penkridge which is a very small station just outside Stafford and ended up getting an Uber with a few other folk up to Liverpool and then I had to a bus back to my house. I finally got back into my house at 12.30am Sunday morning!

2. Engineering works in the Wembley Area meant a few sight seeing tour of North London prior to my watch of Starlight Express.

3. On Saturday, due to some idiot trespassing on the rail network just outside of Manchester Piccadilly, the station was forced to shut the lines in and out of the station. Thankfully I managed to get home after an hour delay.

I have to say, I'm neither gay or a pensioner, but find large groups of women (particularly hen parties) very intimidating.  I don't find the banter of drunken people (male or female) amusing. I find it obnoxious most of the time, and even when you try to keep yourself to yourself, there's always somebody who tries to involve you in some way.  EDIT: In another life, I'm probably "Nick" from 'Come From Away'...

I wondered if anyone has tried texting the BTP number when something like the Twickenham incident happens? I’ve not dobe thst, but sometimes wished I had. I’m not sure how (or if) they respond to texts.