As you probably know I was off down to London'ish for last weekend for the nieces wedding, and to meet Pete. Neither actually came about for me!!!
We set off from N wales last Friday at 10:30am on a trip that shoul take 5 hours including two stops. Their was a 20 minute hold up on the M6 so we had the GPS take us around that, brilliant. We we're almost on time when we hit the M25....
.....Oooooo!!!! 3 accidents came up on the GPS between us and Dartford, so put in to avoid the first, OK.....the 2nd....OK....the 3rd by this time was showing up as a 40 min delay, and the only way around it was to go anti-clockwise round the M25 taking 2 hrs, surprisingly this route had an accident with a 20 min delay as well. So we had to put up with chugging along at around 10mph.
The 3 accidents were all outside lane shunts, you Southerners must need Specsavers......about 10 miles from Dartford we came across another outside lane shunt, just happened, as petrol and oil were running across the lanes still. I just drove through it, as I knew they'd have to close all 3 lanes while they cleaned it up.
The trip over the Dartforf bridge was a very enjoyable 20 mins!!! :unsure: The area still looks like the Blitz! To top it off, we could see the hotel from the bridge, I was buggered, and it had taken 7hrs to get there.
The hotel looked fine, until we got to the room. Rather pokey, dim lighting, and a small window in the corner that opened 1/2 inch. Airconditioning was a FAN, great as temperatures in the room where 34deg......and a bloody shower, no bath....no use to me, as I'm crippled with arthritis standing in a shower is unsafe. So sweaty heat, and no where to get a good wash.
Anyway, we were supposed to go for a meal with my wife niece, and her hubby, but when we called them they said they couldn't make it!! Bloody great, a 7hr drive for nothing, we would have left much later if I'd know that in advance.
Didn't get much sleep due to the heat, and got up Saturday feeling like utter crap.
The wedding was at 10:15am in Maidstone.....they live in Erith!!! What's that all about......??? The reception was in Gravesend!!!! Who the hell plans a wedding with a round trip of 70-80 miles???
Anyway, set the GPS and off we went, only we'd been given the wrong address, and by the time we found the wedding it had finished by 10:20am. Nice of them not to wait 5 mins considering we'd travelled 250+ miles. On top of that I was supposed to video the wedding and be a witness.
I was well peeved at this point, and told the wife to go the reception I was going back to the hotel to watch Royal Ascot (on top of the above, I missed two bets being stuck in traffic and cost me £185)
During the afternoon my mum rang to ask how it had gone, and that my Nan had had another turn, so not wanting to spend another 5 minutes in this hell hole thought it best if I went back to see her, as she's 88 and frail these days. I hate to be somewhere miles away if she passed on.
As soon as the wife got back at 3:30pm I had already packed everything, although she did bring back the bride & groom. So I had to grit my teeth.
The bloody hotel wouldn't give me a refund for the Saturday night, so that cost me £50 for not staying!!
All in all a total waste of time, and very pissed off I never met Pete.
I'm still fuming now, the money it cost me for the expidition would have bought a flight to Miami!!
I ask you, who arranges an early morning Saturday wedding with so much travelling? When everything you need is nearby?
