Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: UK

Flights – Heathrow T5 to Warsaw (British Airways)

This was the clearest photo that I could get of today’s BA850 service from London Heathrow T5 to Warsaw Chopin Airport in Poland. The aircraft was G-EUPH, an Airbus A319, which British Airways have owned since April 2000 when it was new. These A319 aircraft are gradually being withdrawn from service, but they’ve served the airline well.

As I was at B Gates lounge I asked the staff member if she could see where the flight was departing from before it was announced, to save me walking back if the departure was at B Gates. It was at Gate A23 in the main terminal and I was the first to arrive there, primarily since the gate number hadn’t otherwise been announced.

And here’s the packed waiting area, although it soon got much busier. The staff were pro-active in trying to get customers with two bags to put one of them in the hold, as the flight was nearly full. Some people refused and so a different staff member, who was more forthright to say the least, went round and politely told customers that it wasn’t really an option. The amount of bags that customers are taking on board is becoming ridiculous, something will need to be done at some stage about them.

The boarding process was otherwise orderly and well managed, with groups called forwards carefully and customers were despatched back to the seating area if they tried to jump the queue. I like organisation.

I had an exit row aisle seat and there was no-one next to me, so it was a comfortable flight in terms of the space available.

We were delayed on take-off, partly as the inbound flight had been a few minutes late, but primarily as the crew had problems trying to fit all the bags on. Some customers, mostly those who were trying to bring on a bag the size of a small hippo couldn’t find anywhere to store them. At one stage there were eight customers standing in the aisle of the aircraft with bags not fitting in anywhere, but the crew did their usual jenga tactics of moving and restacking bags, with another going into storage elsewhere.

The flight eventually arrived into Warsaw twenty minutes late, so no real problem, with the crew members being conscientious with their announcements and updates. There was a buy on board service which went up and down the cabin, but I saw only a few customers buy anything from it. The fare was £55 return plus 2,500 Avios, although I get 1,350 Avios back with this flight.

January 7, 2020
Heathrow – Ibis Heathrow

I’ve stayed at this Ibis hotel near the airport a few times and written about it before. It’s a short free bus journey away if using TFL buses and there’s car parking available for those who insist on driving everywhere.

This is one of the Accor hotels which persists in this habit of welcoming customers from the customer side of the reception desk. I don’t much like the practice, they’re often leaving screens open with names of other guests, and I’m pleased more Accor hotels are ditching this policy.

The check-in process was relatively quick, but they missed my free drink voucher, although it was provided quickly enough when I very politely hinted about it.

I’ve only once been given a welcome amenity by this hotel, and Accor themselves have told me to mark this hotel down for failing to do so every time. That seems a little harsh, but consistency is probably in the hotel’s own interests. The room was clean and well presented though, with a most lovely view of the car park. Everything was well stocked and worked properly, with the wi-fi being fine, albeit with a couple of drop-outs. They still have the anti-theft devices on their towels that I mentioned last time.

The room this time didn’t have an information card about breakfast times, contact details and the like, but it now has a menu instead.

The hotel is asking guests to pay £1 per bag they want stored during the day, which is donated to charity. I’ve never stored bags here, but I’m not convinced that charging for a service that guests would expect for free is an ideal solution here. I thought Accor hotels were meant to organise separate events to raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust rather than this, but it is a marvellous charity to raise money for.

This was provided after I queried where it was….

The bar area, with two members of staff, one of whom was competent and welcoming, the other was, well, not. Bar work really isn’t an ideal role for those with misanthropic tendencies.

The London Pride was off, just for a short while, so I went for the Goose Session IPA as I haven’t had it before. Slightly generic, but it’s an interesting additional option for the hotel to offer as nearly every customer I noticed order beer went for the Stella option….

And served in a branded glass and at the appropriate temperature.

The breakfast buffet arrangements, with the food placed on two large tables in the centre of the restaurant area. There were plenty of seating available and the manager was making continual efforts to keep everything clean and tidy. There didn’t seem many customers going for the breakfast option, but it starts early and runs late to cater for those with strange flight times, so perhaps it’s rarely overly busy.

The croissants were particularly nice, although the muffins were the usual bland Ibis affair which the company must provide. The sausages were delicious and flavoursome, with the bacon either served slightly firm (my favourite) or with raw fat on it (my least favourite) which required some dexterity to get the piece I wanted. The ham lacked some colour and seemed quite grey, as if it had been out for a little while, but everything seemed organised and well presented.

I had a look at TripAdvisor to amuse myself and the hotel was left this ridiculous review.

“When I arrived at just gone 11am, which I have done on MANY occasions, I was expecting maybe a short wait to get into my room as 11 is a little early, what I wasn’t expecting was to be told the hotel was fully booked the night before & I would have to wait until TWO pm to check in UNLESS I paid an extra £20.00 & then low & behold a room would miraculously appear clean & ready for me.”

I’m often one of those people who checks in early, but 11:00 is very early for a check-in…. £20 for early check-in seems reasonable to me, although it’s free for most under the loyalty scheme anyway.

“You either have NO rooms available full stop because the hotel is booked OR you put your prices up on your website & on booking.com to reflect how much you are ACTUALLY going to charge people to get into their room at a reasonable time.”

14:00 seems reasonable to me…. They definitely had a room, ready and waiting for those who wanted to pay…. This is the problems that hotels face, they try and help customers by giving them something they’re not entitled to, such as an early check-in, only for the customer to throw it back at them later on with a 1 star review when they don’t get the same favour.

Overall, I can’t much complain (although I seem to end up doing so on here….) as the room, including breakfast, came to just over £30. For the convenience of Heathrow, this was ideal, plus I’ll get some points back on the new Accor Limitless loyalty scheme.

January 7, 2020
Heathrow – Free Travel Zone

I’ve been aware of the free travel zone at Heathrow for some time and it’s a useful way of getting to the airport from Bath Road without having to pay for the Hoppa Bus. I stay relatively frequently at the Ibis Heathrow which is marginally outside of the zone, but it’s only a three-minute walk to the next bus stop that’s within it.

For some reason (probably because I don’t think as much as I should….) I’ve always got the buses to the central bus terminal and then got the underground or Hex to T5 (both free for changing between terminals) from there. But, I realised today that there’s the 423 bus which goes straight to the delights of T5, so there was no need for me to go to the central bus terminal.

It wasn’t the busiest bus that I’ve ever seen, although it picked up a few more passengers en route to T5.

And here’s the free travel zone in its entirety…. For anyone staying on the Bath Road, unless they’re at a strange place along it, getting the TFL bus is a handy saving on the otherwise quite expensive charges of the Hoppa bus.

January 7, 2020
Stoke Newington – Rectory Road Railway Station

This railway station doesn’t look particularly exciting, perhaps primarily as it’s a modern building. The station was originally constructed by Great Eastern Railway in 1872 as part of a new branch line which went down to London Liverpool Street. It took its name from, well, the street called Rectory Road, which is now known as the A10.

In 1878, the owners of Manor Tavern, which was on the corner of Church Road and Rectory Road, advertised their property by writing “no neighbourhood in London is developing more rapidly than this. Since the opening of the station, building has been pushed on most extensively, and it is quite certain that within but a short time this house will be doing an immense trade. With these prospects it has also the solid present advantage of a large and lucrative business, everything being sold at the fullest prices”. The rent was £100 per year, which is only around £8,000 per year today, so quite a bargain in modern terms. The pub is still standing, but it’s now flats as it closed as a public house in the early part of this century.

The footbridge over the top of the line, which has the road behind it, isn’t likely to win many awards for architecture. All of this was built in 1975, replacing the previous more basic structure with a more solid brick construction.

Looking down the track, away from London.

This line was operated by Greater Anglia, but it’s now run by TFL.

January 7, 2020
London – Fourex Machine

I’ve never seen one of these machines, but it appears that the company operates around 75 of them, primarily in London, but also at some transport hubs. They’re a way for customers to place in foreign coins and notes and get back out UK pounds, or another currency. They even accept pre-Euro currency, so an opportunity to get rid of some old French francs.

The rates aren’t though the best. 1,000 Polish zloty are currently worth just over £200 (which is good, as they were lower a few weeks ago and I’m off there next), but this machine would pay £175 (or just £120 if coins were paid in). Looking at companies who provide buy-back, they give back from £195 at best (currency on-line group to £181 at worst (RBS). However, for convenience, the rates aren’t too bad in the scale of things and the banks don’t generally accept coins at all.

It’s a marvellous idea though and I might look at my little currency reserves, which are very small, as there doesn’t seem to be a minimum transaction size. A very good idea and the transparency of having the rates on their web-site is also useful.

January 6, 2020
Greater Anglia : Norwich to London Liverpool Street

Something new that I’ve learned today, this is DVT 82121, with the DVT meaning Driving Van Trailer, a push-pull service which means that the driver can operate the train from the other end of it. Very useful.

It wasn’t very busy.

All was going very well until we reached London, when the train suddenly stopped and the driver made an announcement that he didn’t know why. He repeated that announcement a couple of times, which filled me with confidence, before announcing a few minutes later that there was a signals failure near Stratford. This became evident when we saw a freight train stuck in the middle platform of a station, whilst our train used an unusual platform when it eventually got into Stratford. But at least it meant that I will be able to make a delay repay claim, albeit for the lowest possible sum as the delay was relatively minor.

The other end of the train after we arrived into London Liverpool Street. The staff were friendly on the journey, with the guard being thorough with ticket checking (which I like since rules should be followed…..) and the announcements were appropriate and informative. The ticket cost the bargain sum of just £10, so again, good value for money. And, as a bonus, the power sockets and wi-fi worked perfectly throughout, with plenty of table seats available for those who wanted them.

January 6, 2020
Norwich – Norwich Railway Station (Waiting Room Doors)

This waiting room at Norwich railway station is a bloody nuisance to me as I can’t get in. The automatic doors entirely ignore me, regardless of where I try and stand so that the sensors recognise me. Everyone else sails in (and I’ve even brought friends to test whether they can get in – which they always can), whilst I’ve now just taken to tail-gating someone else in.

But today, something changed. I still can’t get in the bloody waiting room, but I noticed nor could someone else. He looked puzzled, confused and just a little befuddled. This pleased me greatly, not because he was in a state of disorder, but because I know that there is someone else in the city who can’t get in either.

January 6, 2020
Norwich – Greggs

Since this will be my last opportunity to get a Greggs for over a month, I didn’t want to waste it, so an early morning (well, what I call early morning) visit to London Street was needed.

Bargain…..

Since it was before 8am, I didn’t feel the need to have anything too heavy, so a delicious and succulent sausage roll it was…..

I’m not normally one for sweet options, but how lovely. The service was, as usual, fast and efficient, making this another stress-free experience. I haven’t yet tried one of the chain’s new vegan steak bakes, that’ll have to wait for my return.

I shall miss Greggs. For the many, not the few as they say.

January 6, 2020
Norwich – The Reindeer

The Reindeer was the first pub on CAMRA’s Friday Five and I haven’t been here for a couple of years. The ownership changed in 2018 and the food menu has become a little more mainstream compared to the previous operators. It’s an Elgoods pub, although they have beers from other breweries available.

The beer choice and unfortunately they’d run out of Elgood’s Plum Porter, a reliably good beer option. I went for the Wild Spice from Wildcraft Brewery, a local operation to Norwich. Apparently this beer is meant to “ooze with cinnamon, ginger, cardamon and nutmeg”, although I struggled to get any discernible flavours or depth of flavour from it. Disappointingly bland.

I tend to avoid live music pubs as it’s not a genre that much interests me, so it’s unlikely that I’d go here again, but the staff were welcoming and keen to engage which gave it a friendly edge. It’s also clearly a popular location for live music and the pub seemed professionally managed, so all rather lovely.

January 4, 2020
Norwich – Arboretum

NB – it has come to my attention that this venue has been blocking single customers from going in on their own. I despise this practice, the thought that someone makes the effort to visit to get some company and is blocked I think is highly sub-optimal. I won’t be returning at any time in the future.

This combination of bar and antiques shop is perhaps as anomalous as any pub in Norwich, looking boarded up from the outside. We visited as part of CAMRA’s Friday Five, which meant a slight pressure on numbers as this bar only holds thirty people (it can technically hold sixty, but they like everyone to be able to get a seat, so self-restrict the numbers). The admission process was though monitored by a helpful staff member at the entrance, so there wasn’t too much of a wait to get in.

There are three parts to the pub, the first room which is the former shop area, the second room which is where the bar is located and a rear room which is a covered outside area. The current opening hours are a little limited, from 15.00 until 22.00 on Tuesdays to Saturdays, but they might be extending those in 2020.

This is the first room, looking like someone’s living room from the early twentieth century.

Everything, within reason, is for sale and there’s some sort of haggling process available for those who are interested in making a purchase.

The service at the bar from the owner was friendly and helpful, with the St. Peter’s Plum Porter being a reliable option and during our visit it was reduced to £3 for CAMRA members. The bar only sells beer in bottles, but the choice is well thought through, the staff member knowledgeable and the products are local.

I’m used to being served drinks in old beer festival glasses, but never in a 1953 Coronation glass….

This is the pub’s dog, which is either Dylan or Dillon, a glorious wolfhound who liked having a little wander around. I’m not sure what the other Dylan I know would think of this, he’d probably be quite impressed….

As someone else said, the bar has become a little bit of a hipster outlet, but that’s more because this is an on-trend and intriguing pub than for any forced reason. The speakeasy type of way of getting in all just adds to the experience and awe, making this one of the more interesting bars in the city. For any location to have no external advertising or branding is very brave, but it seems to work here.

January 4, 2020