Today, REDP has organised a free full day of training for members of its Core Reference Group (and others) on community cohesion at the Holocaust Education Centre in Laxton, near Newark. I'm offered the chance to get a lift from Leicester, but decide to show my independence by getting there by public transport. A combination of train and two buses look simple enough. Yeah, right ...
I get to Nottingham in time to catch the first bus, but then realise that I've mixed up the Broadmarsh Bus Station (the only one I've used in the city) with the Victoria Bus Station (from where the bus I want departs). So I miss that one. I text Laura Horton, REDP Project Manager, who has organised the day, to check if it's still worthwhile coming late or if it would be more of an insult to turn up an hour late. She says that I should get there when I can. I ask the bus driver to let me know when we get to the stop I need in New Ollerton. According to the timetable, we should get there in just under an hour. An hour and a half later, I go forward to ask the driver, "Are we there yet?". "Sorry mate, I thought you'd got off" he tells me. I politely challenge that, so he clarifies things by telling me, "Sorry mate, I didn't understand your accent when you got on. Didn't know where you were asking for." I thought I'd ask him how he knew what to charge me for my ticket then, but couldn't really seeing this going anywhere useful at this point. I'm sure that he's been driving much faster than this old bus is meant to do and we've been hurled around like dried peas in a tin can for the past 90 minutes, so I'm glad to get off in one piece.
Next stop Worksop. It's my first visit there. There's a conveniently situated train station that allows me to get back to Nottingham. I'd got up at 0530 to make sure I managed this trip according to plan. I arrived back in Leicester at 1500, after achieving nothing more than a coach trip round Nottinghamshire. I'm sure I'd have enjoyed that if it's what I'd actually wanted to do today.
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