I'm on the train on the way down south to visit friends. Big Girl has been invited to a birthday party and one of my dearest friends has a special birthday in a few weeks but we are away on holiday so we are celebrating early. Along with a group of her closest friends I've planned a treat for her but she's in the dark as to what it is. I can't say what incase she reads this before we go out but I can't wait to give her a day that she deserves because she is one of life's Angels. She would do anything for anybody and expect nothing in return.
But back to the train. Being on benefits and not with money to waste I have to travel cattle class but I always, always reserve my seats. I'm very specific- I like to travel facing forward, (I can travel backwards but I just like to see where I'm going) with a table, next to a plug socket and close to the toilet (for obvious reasons). Tonight I'm in coach E so had to walk almost the length of the train only to find that 1. it has a sign on the door saying coach closed and 2. it's a first class carriage. A train employee was walking past so I asked him what I should do because the coach on the other side wasn't being used either as the air con wasn't working properly so I was a bit stuck. He went off to check and said that we should sit in the next coach which also happened to be first class also. At this point Big Girl is stressing because she hates getting into trouble and is worried that we will get kicked off the train for being in first class when we shouldn't be.
Just as we are leaving the station I hear the usual cry of 'tickets please' at the other end of the carriage. When the chap got to us he said that we were in the wrong seats. I explained what had happened and said that we had been told that it was fine to sit here. He was having none of it but I said that I had reserved seats and on the ticket it was coach E. Coach E was a first class coach and I had been told that it was fine to sit in the next coach which also happened to be first class. He told me that I had a standard ticket so would have to pay an upgrade fee to stay sitting where I was but at this point his colleague intervened and said that she would check with the manager. I'm afraid to say that I pulled out the disabled card. I explained that I booked seats near to the loo because of my disability and wasn't bothered whether I sat in first class or standard. I said that I was happy to move but that I would find it difficult to manage my bags and suitcase while the train was moving so I would need some assistance. I think that she started to think that it was going to be too much of a hassle to move me, Big Girl and my suitcase down two carriages. I'm pretty sure the clincher was when I told her that I wasn't in it for the freebies because I wasn't able to eat or drink anything because of my disability. She told me to stay where I was and although I'm sure the bloke would probably have carried on arguing the point by this point he was resigned to the fact that I would be staying put.
So here I am travelling to London in first class luxury. Big Girl likes the seats which aren't as comfortable as I'd imagined them to be but they're wider and you get more legroom which is always a good thing. Other than that I don't see why it's worth paying the extra money although the carriage does have a very nice carpet. But again, still not worth the extra. Yes, you get free tea, coffee and water but you can buy those for a couple of pounds in the shop or off the cattle class trolley. And I was hoping that it would have a really nice loo but it was exactly the same cramped, grotty offering that you get in standard. But at least I can say that I've travelled to London first class. I don't think I will be doing it again any time soon.
NB x
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