Hard Rock Calling

DH and I went to Hard Rock Calling on Saturday.  Bon Jovi is my favourite band, ever, and tickets to HRC were our Christmas presents to each other.  My mum came down to babysit (thank you) and look after DD1 & DD2.

The festival was really good.  We 'discovered' Vintage Trouble and really liked them and Bon Jovi was great as usual.  It was a tad expensive - £4 a pint! And we forgot to take suntan lotion, so I'm really burnt on my arms and shoulders, but it was worth it.  Oh, and my hips and legs are still aching today (Monday) because I was non-stop dancing throughout.

I'm very tired now, though, not helped by the train journey back.

We had tickets for the last train back, and thankfully had reserved seats.  The train was packed, and some people were in our seats, but they didn't put up a fight and moved.  As I said the train was packed, and then there was an announcement from the train manager: there were too many people on board and it was dangerous so he was refusing to move.  For people wanting the first 2 stops, they were advised to use a different train (which was on the adjacent platform). Good for him!  I have been on trains much more packed than that one (unless the carriages behind us were even more crammed in), but you know if an accident were to happen then people would be getting on his back.  anyway, I assume people did move, because the train finally departed 15min late.

Then, just as were were approaching Slough, the train manager was called to the buffet car.  Then, as we arrived in Slough, the train manager said they were trying to eject a passenger from the train because he has assaulted the buffet person and himself, and they were waiting for the police to arrive.  As while after that, there was another announcement. Sorry for the continued delay, the passenger left the train, and was now sitting on the track in front of the train preventing, not only us from moving, but also any other train from going through the station.  And, after a long time, other trains started to pass us, so there was yet another announcement.  The police had arrived, the person was removed from the track, but we had to wait until all the statements had been taken.  When the train finally started to move a cheer when through the carriages!  We finally arrived at our destination an hour late.

And then, we had planned to get a taxi home, but we walked past the start of a non-existent queue to get to the taxis (as everyone in front of us had done) but missed the last taxi.  Meanwhile the queue appeared and was massive, and a crazy woman was busy yelling at someone for "pushing in" even though they were in front of her (but behind us) and banging on the taxi.  We couldn't be arsed to fight our case or go to the back of the queue so, despite my legs aching, and DH's feet hurting, we walked home.