Three months ago I was interviewed for the trade magazine Tobacco Reporter.
George Gay, TR’s European editor, very kindly made it easy for me by offering to meet at the British Library, which is a short walk from King’s Cross where my train comes in.
I spent three hours with George before walking back to the station to catch the train back to Cambridgeshire.
I should have been home by six but it was closer to nine because when the train got to Potters Bar, just north of London, everyone had to get off because a signalling failure meant that no trains on that line could go any further.
It was late afternoon and the train was full so you can imagine how many people were milling around wondering what to do.
I joined the queue at the taxi office, just outside the station, and after a 40-minute wait I booked a car to take me home (75 miles).
Taxis were at a premium so I had to wait another 45 minutes for my driver to arrive, and it was a further hour before I finally got home.
Which brings me to today.
I had arranged to meet someone for lunch but travelling to London this morning the inbound train stopped at Arlesey in Bedfordshire.
It was a scheduled stop but we were told there was a fire at Stevenage and trains were being held until there was further information.
Fifteen minutes later the driver advised us to make alternative travel plans, and 20 minutes after that we were told that no trains would be travelling in either direction for at least two hours.
Problem #1 - Arlesey station is quite small and even the ticket office was closed. Taxi rank? If there was one, I couldn’t see it.
With no taxis in sight I eventually booked one by phone, and a text confirmed it was on its way.
What I didn’t notice - until the taxi failed to appear - was that the text message included a link to an app so I could pay the fare in advance, and if I didn’t pay it upfront they wouldn’t send the car.
Problem #2 - the internet connection outside the station was lousy and it wouldn’t let me connect me to the app so I couldn’t pay the fare in advance.
So I rang the taxi firm, twice, but only after the second call did they agree to send a car without advance payment. (I think they could hear the desperation in my voice.)
Eventually, an hour after I got off the train, a taxi arrived and I was driven home.
But that wasn’t the end of it because - for reasons known only to the driver and his sat nav - instead of driving up the A1 (the most direct route home), we took a detour cross-country through villages I have never heard of.
And, yes, I did query it with the driver but you don’t like to make too much of a fuss because it ruins the atmosphere and when you’re stuck in a car with a stranger for an hour that can be a bit uncomfortable.
Anyway, is this just bad luck or is Britain really broken, as some people believe?