Kempton Races

Even before I had actually started my first day at the new job they had invited Dušan and I to a Partners Day at the races. Sadly Dušan had already booked 2 weekends off in September meaning he couldn’t take any more time off, but I went along on my own.
My manager had emailed us with the joining instructions, but with the dozens of emails flying round the office on Friday (Remember a world before email?); I printed the wrong one off. I was sure it said meet at Waterloo at 11:55AM. 1155AM on a Saturday morning? What about my lovely lie in?

Dušan was at work by 9 AM so I was up early enough and getting dressed in slacks and a shirt I couldn’t find my shoes. When it struck me I had left them at work I was frantically rushing around to find another outfit and left just after 11:00. It usually only takes 20 minutes to London Bridge. However, with the DLR out of service all weekend for more Engineering work I took a bus to New Cross and crazily had to wait a full 25 minutes for the first train.

I arrived at Waterloo at five to noon. I needed 3 things, food, money and a train ticket. According to my watch I had plenty of time, only the ATMs (All four) were out of order. I spent five minutes queuing for some money. Then grabbed a quick burger and ran upstairs to the concourse. Spotting the others waiting, as arranged, under the grand clock. The Station was heaving; in fact I have never seen it so busy in all my years. There were lines at every one of the ticket machines at least 10 deep. By the time I got my ticket and ran to platform four I was in time to see the train pulling away. Thankfully they run every 30 minutes. I had time to buy a newspaper and made my way casually to the races on the next train.

We had some drinks, bet on some races and won some and lost some. It was a fun day out and good to see the team outside of work on a social basis.
Thankfully the train station is literally at the races. While waiting on the station platform a lady leans over and says, “Hey it’s you from the train”. For a moment my mind was a blank, but it turns out it was the lady I met after lunch at Emily’s with Gill. I bumped into the lady and her friend on the way to speed dating a month back. How she recognised me I don’t know. But we had a chat again. Funny how people remember me all the time.

Finding a seat on the train, crazily in 2008 the train has no toilet. Not even one. By the time we completed the journey I was so desperate for the loo I made a desperate run to the station bathroom. Like half the people on the train, frantically looking to see if we have 30 pence in change to pay to spend a penny. (Not spend 30 pennies) Crazy isn’t it? More sign of Rip off Britain. 30 pence to simply use the loo, at a station that you have already paid a small fortune for a train ticket for. I wouldn’t mind if they were spotless but half the time the station loos are vile. In fact it seems the staff are more keen on ensuring users pay than actually taking care of the cleanliness. The facilities change machine was out of order so for once, the facilities were free. Everyone was saying, wow I am now 30p up. Everyone’s a winner, no matter what you lost at the races. Come on Boris (Mayor of London), surely there is something you can do to make us all happy. With all of the public conveniences now closed down you could make the facilities free to the public.

When I have read in the paper that the City of London, the square mile, is now going to be fining people for using the street to do their business, when in truth, we have all been there. There are no facilities open in the evening. Even the tube stations have nothing, especially after 6PM. I challenge anyone who has been out for a few hours, having enjoyed just a couple of drinks to not have to use a facility at some time on their way home.

In Amsterdam, it’s so different. They know people have to go and have facilities for men, scattered around the city that are simply taken away and swapped with new facilities when they are full. With a growing population surely they could do more to make facilities available. Like a city wide law requiring every commercial facility to be accessible by customers and non customers alike. Hotels, stations, shops, restaurants, there are thousands of them everyone. Come on Boris, bring back the quintessentially British public convenience. We could call it the Boris Bog!