My destination for the day was Birmingham, and buying my ticket at Euston was something of a surprise - a day return came out at 254 (pounds that is - I would type the symbol, but I can't find one on my American keyboard!). I took a deep breath and paid, but was grateful for the knowledge that I wasn't actually paying. Admittedly this was a first class ticket, but hey, them's the rules, and I did do some work during the journey!
Virgin were keen to point out that it wasn't just a Virgin Train, it was a Virgin Pendolino Train (no, it didn't mean much to me either - see here for a bit more info), and they were clearly hoping to sell lots of first class tickets, as the first four or five carriages were all allocated to it. I think there were two other people in the one that I chose!
(As an aside about Euston, walking down the slope from the main concourse to the platforms reminded me of a trip taken from Euston to Manchester over twenty years ago - on my way to visit my cool sister at university. I listened to my new Pet Shops Boys album on my walkman all the way on that journey!)
As part of Virgin's price justification, food and drinks were brought round, and in fairness, the bacon and eggs, coffee and juice weren't bad, but even so, that's a really expensive breakfast.
I arrived in Birmingham in plenty of time for my meeting, and after that we went out for a retirement lunch for one of my fellow directors (who joined the firm in 1973). We went to the Marco Pierre White steakhouse on the 25th floor of a building called the Cube. The views in the spring sunshine were impressive. I would have taken a picture or two, but due to a distinct lack of local knowledge, I didn't really know what I was looking at!
I have to confess to a certain feeling of envy towards my retiring colleague insofar as he will be enjoying a life of leisure from next Monday onwards. Mind you, he has been at it for 22 years longer than me, and fingers crossed, I might be able to pack it all in in fewer years from now than that.
Less work was done on the way back to London on the train, as I divided my time between reading my book and gazing out of the window. From around Rugby to Milton Keynes, we were following the route of a canal for lots of the time, and seeing the narrow boats either going nowhere or puttering slowly along did look very appealing. The idea of taking several days to travel from London to Birmingham rather than an hour and a half sounds like progress to me. Looking forward to our summer holiday of puttering along.
Back at Euston, as the weather was still lovely, I walked the short distance back to St Pancras, and went through the courtyard of the British Library. The courtyard was full of people enjoying the warm weather, reading and chatting, and I felt particularly out of place, walking through in my suit, carrying my work bag.
Still, picture and wisdom of the day was provided by a big sign on the side of the library.
