2014 - Day Out 02: London

Date: Saturday 05 April 2014

It is our first visit to London of 2014, despite the early start, the weather is looking good so it is off we go.

It is just after 06:15am and I make my way up to the Wollaston to get our first bus of the day and at 06:30am National Express West Midlands Service 276 turns up and after the driver letting me on to get warm, we wait a few minutes before we set off and at 06:35am, I send the standard text to Mr UKBuses to say that the bus is on its way and we pick him up from his stop in Norton at 06:41am and we head into Stourbridge Interchange where we interchange from the bus to the railway station and at 06:55am we board the "Stourbridge Dodger" to take us to Stourbridge Junction where we jump onto the 07:01 London Midland train which takes us to Smethwick Galton Bridge where we interchange once again onto platform 4 where we catch another London Midland train into Birmingham New Street arriving at 07:44am which means we have a bit of time to kill before catching our train to London, so we head to the nearest McDonald's where we devour a bacon roll and we then make our way back to Birmingham New Street, having a "fresh air break" before entering the station and finding out which platform our London train will be departing from.

First Class Travel!

We find and make our way to the platform and the 08:30am Virgin Trains to London Euston is already waiting at the platform so we make our way to Coach H and take our seats in First Class, see picture above, which means we get free water (or coffee in Mr UKBuses case) and a breakfast snack box to feed us along the way. We pass through Coventry, Rugby and Milton Keynes before arriving on time at London Euston alighting the train at 09:59am and we don't have to walk far to the main concourse as the First Class carriages are closest to the station. First thing to do as we arrive in London is for some "fresh air", and Mr UKBuses decides to use the break to take some photographs around the bus station at London Euston. Fresh air break over we make our way onto the London Underground and after tapping in on our OysterCards, credit is added for our day ahead and we make our way onto the Northern Line to make a quick journey to Charing Cross making our way from the underground to Trafalgar Square. We make our way across Trafalgar Square, which is closed off for a jet wash, but we do get to see the fourth plinth being occupied by a massive blue cock, see picture at the start of this post, as we pass it. We leave Trafalgar Square behind and make our way top the bus stop where we catch our first London bus of 2014 (also seeing the special liveried BorisMaster celebrating London's Year Of The Bus, see picture right) and our bus turns up, so we board Go-Ahead London Central service 12, tapping in our OysterCards as we pass the driver and we take our seat for our journey of approximately half an hour to our first destination of the day, Peckham, and we arrive at 11:18am at Peckham Bus Station where a few photographs are taken before we catch our next bus.

At 11:26, we board Arriva London Service 197 to take us to Nigel Road, where we alight and see the public house that made this area of London famous, "The Nags Head", see picture left. As we walk towards it, it looks as if we won't be able to sample the place as it looks like it is closed, so a couple of pictures are taken of the exterior and I double check the door to see if we can enter, and luckily the door is unlocked and a few people are already consuming pints, so it would be rude not to sample Del and Rodney's regular. Unfortunately there is no real ale available so we have to opt for a tastelessly smooth pour bitter, but despite this, The Nags Head seems to be popular with the locals and with no sign of Marlene or Boycie, we make our way back to the bus stop on Nigel Road to take us to Peckham Rye Railway Station, with Arriva London service 197 being used again, but as we make our way down the road, we come to a standstill and after a few minutes we decide to follow other people and alight and walk the rest of the way to the railway station, as we start walking down the road, the traffic is on the move again and our bus flies past us. It is 12:15 and our South Eastern Railways train arrives and takes us to and terminates at Victoria Railway Station at 12:28, where we decide to get some lunch, but before we do that we visit the Ladbrokes shop in the station to place a bet on "Tea For Three" who is taking part in the Grand National later that day. Once the bet has been made, we make our way to one of our favourite J D Wetherspoon pubs, "The Willow Walk".

We enter "The Willow Walk" and at the most of times, this is a busy pub, but Mr UKBuses does find an empty table which he takes his seat whilst I'm left at the bar to buy the round (I think that may have been planned!), drinks are purchased and its is now time for food. Whilst the menu is perused, I discover that we were lucky to get a table today as half of the pub is closed off due to a flood in the empty offices above The Willow Walk. Food is chosen and Mr UKBuses opts for his standard BBQ Chicken Melt, without the melt and myself opting for a Chicken Burger and chips. The food doesn't take long to arrive and after devouring the meal, we are ahead of schedule and with The Willow Walk getting busier, we decide to ditch the plan for the afternoon and "go with the flow" for the rest of the day. First of all we make our way to the bus stop opposite and we board a BorisMaster, being operated by London Metroline, on service 24 which takes us to Leicester Square, passing Westminster and saying hello to Trafalgar Square again before arriving at our destination. We alight at Leicester Square and jump straight onto the Underground where we catch a train on the Piccadilly Line to take us one stop to Piccadilly Circus Underground Station, we make our way back up to ground level and decide to take a short walk with Mr UKBuses leading the way we are lost and actually end up back at Leicester Square where we started from.

We make our way to the bus stop at Leicester Square and catch London Metroline's service 24 again to take us on the short journey to Charing Cross. We decide to go back onto the plan and visit our London regular "The Blind Beggar", so we go back underground at Charing Cross and onto the Northern Line where we get off at Tottenham Court Road Underground Station to change onto the Central Line, disaster strikes when we find out that there are engineering works taking place this weekend on the Central Line, so we have to abandon the plan again and decide to give The Blind Beggar a miss, so we head back onto the Northern Line and decide to go to Westminster, which means that we are going to be nearly catching all of the underground lines today, as we arrive at Warren Street where we change onto the Victoria Line where upon arrival at Green Park, we change lines once again and we go onto the Jubilee Line to get us to our destination of Westminster Underground Station. Seeing as we can't make it to The Blind Beggar, we decide to have a pint at Westminster and visit a pub we first tried out on Remembrance Day last year, "The Red Lion", see picture right. The pub is quite packed and seeing as it was sunny, we decide to take a seat on a bench outside of the pub and think back to November when we were standing nearby watching the service at the Cenotaph. Drinks over, we decide to make our way back to London Euston a bit early so that we can see The Grand National and hopefully pick up some winnings, we make our way back to Westminster Underground Station and onto the Jubilee Line and Northern Lines to get us back to London Euston.

We arrive at London Euston at 03:54pm and make our way out of London Euston and visit "The Royal George" where we get to have a pint and watch The Grand National, an added bonus is that we also get to see the Qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix on the screen next to the one that is showing The Grand National. Whilst Mr UKBuses finds a seat I'm stood at the bar again getting the round in (I sense a pattern emerging here) and we then take our seats in time for the start of the National. Mr UKBuses concentrates on The National whilst I'm concentrating on the qualifying, speaking to other F1 fans on the next table at the same time, and from the look on the face of Mr UKBuses I know that something has happened and am informed that "Tea For Three" has fallen. We drown our sorrows and make our way back across the road to London Euston station where we get supplies for the train back, whilst we don't know what platform our train will be leaving from, Mr UKBuses suffers with the bladder and we decide to enter "The Britannia" so Mr UKBuses can use the facilities and I get a quick pint whilst he uses them (All this to save him 20p!). We make our way back to the concourse and have some "fresh air" before finding out which platform we will be leaving from and make our way to the train where we board and upgrade to first class, see picture left, and leave London Euston on time at 05:03pm.

We make our way back through Milton Keynes, Rugby and Coventry along the way on our Virgin Train, with Mr UKBuses taking his usual nap before arriving on time at Birmingham New Street at 06:27pm. We only have a few minutes spare before getting our connecting train to Smethwick Galton Bridge, but since alighting the train and making our way to the concourse, Mr UKBuses disappears and after a phone call we are reunited on Platform 4B where we board our London Midland train leaving Birmingham New Street at 06:38pm and arriving at Smethwick Galton Bridge at 06:46pm. We have just under twenty minutes to wait before having to catch our London Midland train to Stourbridge Junction, so we head out of the station for an overdue "fresh air" break. With the break over, we make our way back down to the platform where we board our London Midland train at 07:02pm and we are lucky to get a seat as the train is busy, we arrive back at Stourbridge Junction at 07:22pm and have three minutes to get to the other platform and catch the Stourbridge Dodger promptly leaving on time at 07:25pm and arriving back at Stourbridge Interchange at 07:28pm, where we interchange for the last time of today and at 07:35pm our National Express West Midlands Service 276 turns up to take us home, as we pass through Norton, I say my goodbyes to Mr UKBuses and stay on the bus until the terminus at Wollaston popping into the Chinese takeaway for tea / supper before heading home to eat it and relax.

Another good day out in the Capital, hopefully the first of many in 2014, good weather was had and thanks go to Mr UKBuses for doing the plan, speaking of Mr UKBuses here is his bald spots -

Bald Spot 1: The Bald Spot makes an appearance at Trafalgar Square.

Bald Spot 2: The Bald Spot awaits the bus for Peckham.

Bald Spot 3: The Bald Spot arrives at Peckham Bus Station.

Bald Spot 4: The Bald Spot visits the Cenotaph.

2013 - Day Out 13: London Remembrance

Date: 10 November 2013

It is the last day of our London weekend and before we head back to the West Midlands, we pay a visit to Whitehall to pay our respects at the Remembrance Day Parade.

Despite being up late last night, I wake up at a respectable (and early for a Sunday!) time of 7am, so first of all I throw on some clothes and get some "fresh air" before returning to my room and getting refreshed for the day ahead and changing and making sure that I have everything packed in my bag ready to check out after breakfast. Packing done, I make my way for a quick "fresh air" break and meet up with Mr UKBuses for breakfast, after devouring a healthy pile of bacon, sausage and beans and numerous pots of yogurt, we say goodbye whilst we collect our belongings, and also for me to get changed into my scout uniform, checking out before meeting up again at reception where we make our way for the final time this weekend to East India DLR station to start our journey, changing at Canning Town and onto the Jubilee Line where we get the tube all the way to Westminster making our way to ground level where after a quick "fresh air" break, we make our way around to Whitehall walking along the main road as it is closed to traffic whilst the parade is taking place.

We make our way to Whitehall where we are met with the security checks taken out by the Metropolitan Police, we have to queue a while whilst making our way to the main area, with Mr UKBuses doing a few warm up exercises ready to lift his heavy wallet out of his pocket to put in the belongings tray to be examined. We pass the security checks and Mr UKBuses hooks up his chain from his wallet to his safety point in his coat and luckily he didn't manage to pull a muscle to put his heavy wallet back into its safe place. We are a bit later arriving at the parade this year so we find it hard to get to our normal spot by The Cenotaph, so we decide to stay close to The Red Lion, see picture right, where we still manage to get a good view of the Cenotaph, I get a better view by climbing onto one of the stone walls opposite The Red Lion, Mr UKBuses does try but gives up as it is high up. I "do my best" and help a couple of kids and their mom up to get a good view of the ceremony. We still have a while to wait before the actual ceremony starts and Mr UKBuses takes his place on the corner opposite The Red Lion so that he can video a few clips on his camera when the parade starts.

It is 11am and before the parade and service starts, there is a two minutes silence which takes place and the start and finish is marked by a cannon shooting. With the two minutes silence over the service starts and with the current and past Prime Ministers making an appearance, this is followed by an appearance by Her Majesty The Queen, who along with the current political party leaders lay wreaths at The Cenotaph. In the middle of the service I ascend from my viewpoint and join Mr UKBuses for the rest of the service and after saluting (I was in uniform) and singing The National Anthem, which means it is the end of the Remembrance Day service. We learn from last years mistake, so instead of trying to get crushed by escaping Whitehall, we make our way inside The Red Lion, see picture left, as we enter we have to wait about ten minutes to get served, but as more people pile in, the manageress decides to start serving early, with me getting served first. Mr UKBuses has already found a seat and I nearly drown him as I don't put my pint down properly. We look at the television and see that they are showing the parade which makes us feel a bit weird as we are watching it on a television screen whilst we are only a few feet away from the actual parade. Another round is purchased as the crowds are still trying to get out. After we finish our second drink, we make our way out and instead of being crushed like we were last year, we simply walk around the corner and onto Westminster Bridge.

Instead of catching the London Underground, we go off plan and catch Go-Ahead London Central's service 12 which will be on diversion as Whitehall is closed, we board and as we get to Piccadilly Circus we alight as the traffic is moving slowly. After a "fresh air" break we go back underground and onto the Piccadilly Line where we alight at Leicester Square. As we have a bit of time to spare, we pay a visit to one of our old favourites, The Bear and Staff, see picture right, which gives us a chance to rest our now aching legs. Mr UKBuses finds a table whilst I get the drinks in (hang on, when is it his round?) and after about twenty minutes we finish off and make our way back to Leicester Square Underground Station where we make our final tube journey of the weekend and we board a train on the Northern Line and alight at London Euston Railway Station. Mr UKBuses is on the hunt for food, so whilst he goes to Burger King and I am still full from breakfast, I make my way to The Brittannia inside London Euston and have a last pint in London, followed by my last "fresh air" break in London before meeting back up with him and looking at the screens to see which platform our return train to the West Midlands will depart from. Once the platform is announced we make our way and board the train and get ourselves comfortable ready for the journey ahead.

It is now 14:40 and our Virgin Train departs on time and as we say goodbye to London (see you in 2014), the train manager announces that the shop in carriage C is now open, so whilst Mr UKBuses starts to nod off, I make my way to the shop for a return journey bottle of the special "Tilting Ale", with no snores from Mr UKBuses, we arrive at Birmingham New Street at 16:05 and it is a rush to get to the correct platform for our connecting train to Smethwick Galton Bridge, luckily we make it in time and board the London Midland train which gets us quickly to Smethwick Galton Bridge, where upon arrival we make the trek to get to the correct upper platform where our next London Midland train arrives just after 16:30 which gets us to Stourbridge Junction, where after another platform change, we get the Stourbridge Dodger which takes us to Stourbridge Interchange. I wait with Mr UKBuses until 17:05 where the National Express West Midlands service 276 bus arrives to take him home, this is where I say my goodbyes as my stomach is starting to rumble so before I get home I make a diversion to J D Wetherspoons "The Chequer's Inn" for a beer and a burger meal, where after letting my food go down, I walk home where I put my feet up for the rest of the night.

Another great weekend was had in London, with a couple of shows and parades being seen. I have to thank Mr UKBuses a lot as if it wasn't for his plans, this weekend would not have been possible. Speaking of Mr UKBuses, his bald spots from the weekend can be seen below.

Bald Spot 1: The Bald Spot makes an appearance at Aldgate Bus Station.

Bald Spot 2: The Bald Spot makes an appearance at Liverpool Street Bus Station.

Bald Spot 3: The Bald Spot makes an appearance at Victoria Bus Station.

2012 - Day Out 20: London - Remembrance Day Parade

Date: Sunday 11 November 2012

It is our last day in the City of London and we hope to get back on TV this year when we spend the morning at the Remembrance Day Parade at Whitehall, it is an early start so after the bags are packed, we make an early start to get the prime spot in front of the BBC TV cameras.

I wake up and after getting ready, make sure that everything is packed before I go downstairs for some "fresh air" and check out before Mr UKBuses rises from his pit. My stomach feels loads better today but we haven't got time for breakfast this morning before we have to leave Travelodge Docklands for the last time this year (I will be back here in April 2013 to watch the WWE at the 02 Arena again). Mr UKBuses said to meet him in reception at about 08:30am, but I think he needs a new alarm clock as he is twenty minutes late again. He checks out and we are on our way to our last London destination for this weekend and we are off to see The Queen - not "We Will Rock You", the real Queen, we are off to Whitehall to see the Remembrance Day Parade. We say goodbye to the hotel for the final time this weekend and we take the short walk to the Docklands Light Railway station at East India for the final time this year. I get my Oystercard out ready and tap in on the point that I have grown to hate this weekend, but at least it lets me tap in. We don't have long to wait before our train pulls up and we go one stop to Canning Town and thankfully, Mr UKBuses decides not to do any singing as we walk to the London Underground platform, which means that the current blue skies will stay that way. Our train arrives and we are on the Jubilee Line, and are on the train for eight stations before we arrive at Westminster Underground Station.

As we make our way outside of the station we see Big Ben in front of us opposite the station entrance and as I get a "fresh air" break and make our way around to Whitehall, the crowds are gathering in big numbers already. As we turn the corner, the police are ready for the security and bag checks which I failed last year due to leaving my Asthma Inhaler in my pocket. This year I leave nothing to chance and take all things out of my coat and trouser pockets including my cigarettes, the policewoman who was checking my stuff turned round and told me "those are mine I'm afraid, I'm going to have to confiscate them for myself!", little did she know that when she was searching in my bag that she would be going through my dirty underwear! Now its time to go through the security metal detectors and this year I pass the test and am able to collect my things and put everything back in my pockets, Mr UKBuses is still being checked, perhaps they were having trouble getting into his wallet. After passing security we head up towards the Cenotaph to get a prime spot for watching the Remembrance service, the location can be seen in the picture above. 

To ensure that we get a good spot, we had to get here early so there is just over another hour to go before the event starts, so we just wait around looking to see if there is anyone famous lurking about. The time soon passes by, even with the help of a jolly gentleman behind us by keeping our spirits up with his jokes. It is nearly eleven and the start of the parade. The bands have started to make their way down Whitehall and are taking there places, we have a band wearing large bearskin hats on their heads which sort of limits our view towards the Cenotaph. As soon as the bands have taken their places, the dignitaries start taking their places with Prime Ministers past and present as they appear from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Once the dignitaries take their places, Her Royal Highness, The Queen makes her appearance, with the press photographers starting to click away, taking over the sound of silence and as Big Ben strikes 11, a shot is heard starting the two minute silence and is ended by another shot being heard. The main service is underway with Hymns being sung and prayers being spoken. After the service is over, the parade starts and we start to make our way back to Westminster Underground Station to get some food before we have to board our train back to the Midlands. Everything is going fine, even passing Jeremy Paxman along the route and as we pass The Red Lion, disaster strikes. Everyone who has watched the parade seems to want to get out at the same time and we hit a bottleneck, we are stuck in the middle of the crowd and we cannot move anywhere backwards or forwards, and I make sure that the person behind me who keeps pushing my spine into all different directions trying to get past when no-one else in front is moving anywhere by calmly SHOUTING at her to stop trying to break my back. Mr UKBuses is quite a way behind me (and he heard me!) and after nearly an hour and a half being stuck, the parade has finished and the police start releasing the crowd by moving the barriers. With a bit of space, I have a well deserved "fresh air" break whilst quickly making our way to the Westminster Underground Station.

Our First Class train is due to depart at 13:20 so we don't have long to get to London Euston Railway Station, we enter Westminster Underground Station and rush down to the correct platform and we don't have to wait long before a train arrives. Somehow after we board, we arrive at London Euston Underground Station and rush up to the main concourse of the railway station to find out what platform we are on. We run down to the train and board with a few minutes to spare. We board our Virgin Train and find our seats in first class and decide that it will only be tea and biscuits for our free food, whilst Mr UKBuses gets himself comfortable I make my way all the way down to the other side of the train to get to the shop and get some sandwiches and crisps. I spot a bacon Ciabatta bread sandwich, so opt for a warm one of those and a couple of liquid refreshments for the journey back. I get back to our carriage after walking a mile back down the train and Mr UKBuses is enjoying biscuits and drink, nice of him to save mine - but at least I get my own back when I pass him his sandwich and I pull out my hot bacon sandwich. After we devour our much needed food we get comfortable for the rest of the journey.

We arrive in Coventry and are surprised how quick it has taken us to get there, it may seem only a few minutes for Mr UKBuses as he has had a kip for half of the journey. We are near Birmingham and we can tell as the train slows down to nearly a standstill just outside of Birmingham New Street, but we eventually arrive and we get our belongings and alight the train and catch our connecting London Midland train to Smethwick Galton Bridge. We arrive at Smethwick Galton Bridge and have the arduous task of walking up a few flights of steps to get to the right platform for our Stourbridge bound train. We have a few minutes to wait even if the minutes on the time estimated board keep changing up and down and we eventually board our train which takes us on the faster journey back to Stourbridge Junction, only stopping at Rowley Regis and Cradley Heath on the way back. We have a bit of time to spare and I am able to have a well deserved "fresh air break" outside of the station before getting the "Stourbridge Dodger" back into Stourbridge Interchange where we go to our stand and catch National Express West Midlands Service 276 back home after a brilliant, if not exhausting, weekend.

Another successful weekend break was had in London again this year, this was due to the good company of Mr UKBuses and also down to the fact that he came up with good plans for each day spent in the Capital, the weekend would not be possible with the good planning of Mr UKBuses (Big Thank you!). Plus when we got home I checked on BBC i-Player and we were on the BBC coverage again, about 2 minutes 30 seconds in.

2012 - Day Out 18: London

Date: Friday 09 November 2012

Following the successful weekend break in London last year, we thought we would do it again. So with the Oystercard ready, hotel booked, rail tickets purchased and another type of ticket booked, we depart Stourbridge at dinnertime so that we can spend the evening around the Capital.

I wake up and don't feel to good, I have picked up a stomach bug and feel a bit queasy, but with all the plans made and tickets purchased I do not let this get in my way and finish off my packing ready for the day ahead. I have to pop into Stourbridge before meeting up with Mr UKBuses and decide to surprise him by catching the National Express West Midlands service 276 to his bus stop in Norton and after a ten minute wait he walks around the corner where we wait a few minutes before our 13:56 journey arrives and we, well myself, are back on the 276, which takes us into Stourbridge where upon arrival at Stourbridge Interchange, we alight and change onto the "Stourbridge Dodger" which takes us from the Interchange to Stourbridge Junction where we wait a few minutes for our train to take us to Birmingham. At 14:39 our London Midland train arrives and our first leg of our journey to the Capital is complete as our train takes us to Birmingham Snow Hill.

Upon arrival at Birmingham Snow Hill, I get my train ticket out ready to show the ticket guard at the barriers as when we normally try to escape the station, the ticket barriers do not recognise our tickets and do not let us out. Mr UKBuses decides to give it a go and he gets through, so it is my turn and with my experience with these ticket barriers I fear the worst, but the ticket barrier lets me go through too. As we leave Birmingham Snow Hill I get some "fresh air" and we have a bit of time to kill in Birmingham, so we decide to go to J D Wetherspoons, "The Briar Rose", where we sample a real ale and decide to have a second one as we still have a bit of time to kill. With the drinks finished, we take a walk down to The Pallasades and into Birmingham New Street Station, where we have a change and catch the Virgin Trains to London. We board our train and get our reserved seats making ourselves comfortable with our train departing at 16:10, we pass through Birmingham International and Coventry before arriving at London Euston at 17:34, along the way I have some new kind of "fresh air" break on the train, a legal electronic cigarette.

At this point I would normally have some "fresh air" but we don't have time (luckily I had a few drags on my electronic version on the train) and with the Oystercard at hand, it is straight onto the London Underground and onto the Northern Line at Euston, making our way to Bank where we change onto The Docklands Light Railway to take us to our final destination. We arrive at East India and as we make our way out of the station, I have a well overdue real "fresh air" break whilst we have a short walk to our accommodation for the weekend, Travelodge Docklands, a place where we stopped last November and I also stopped in April this year when I came down to watch the WWE Raw TV Taping event at the nearby 02 Arena. Cigarette extinguished we make our way to the reception to check in. I end up being on the 2nd Floor this time and they cater for the elderly with Mr UKBuses having a room on the ground floor. We go to our rooms to drop our stuff off and have a freshen up.

There is a bit of time left before we meet up so I decide to have a sample of the hotel bar and have a pint of Boddingtons, as I sup my ale I decide to have some "fresh air" and when I return, Mr UKBuses has the same idea and has made his way to the bar and is sitting at a table with his pint, it is a shame that my pint is on another table, but I decide to join him and we finish our pints before heading to East India for our night ahead. We get on the Docklands Light Railway and go one stop to Canning Town where we change our mode of transport and go back on the Underground and onto the Jubilee Line. We alight at Waterloo and change onto the Bakerloo Line which takes us to Charing Cross where we sample our first proper public house of the weekend, J D Wetherspoons "Lord Moon Of The Mall".

After finding a table we decide to have a pint and some food, with my appetite not being up to much, I just opt for a bowl of chips whilst Mr UKBuses has is Masala. After our grub is finished and pints supped, we consult the plan and the next place to visit is our London regular, "The Blind Beggar", but as I'm not feeling too good, we decide to make our way back to the hotel and have an early night.

Despite my tummy bug, it was a successful first day, we get some well deserved sleep ready for a busy day ahead tomorrow, night night!

2012 - Day Out 07: London

Date: Saturday 07 April 2012

It is Easter, so to start off my four day break, we decide to make an Easter visit to London in what looks like on paper to be a "cracking" Easter trip.

It is an early start and I make my way to Wollaston where I catch the first National Express West Midlands Service 276 of the day at 06.36am. The bus pulls up early so the driver kindly lets me on to warm up, as I am waiting he comes up to me to ask "Is the new bus station open yet, as it is on my paperwork". I could have said "Yes", so that I would be on the first bus to go into the interchange, but I think the security fences across the entrance would have given my game away. As I pass the Stourbridge Crematorium, I send Mr UKBuses his usual text which is to get out of bed and get your arse up to the stop. The text worked as he is waiting when the bus arrives. After he boards, we make our way to Stourbridge Junction, passing the new interchange that I tried to get us in, as we arrive close to the junction, Mr UKBuses asks the driver to drop us off up the road which is a bit closer to the station, he'll do anything to save a bit of shoe leather. We have twenty minutes to wait, so we have a warm in the waiting room before our 07.22am Chiltern Train arrives and this time we don't stay on the train as we have to change at Birmingham Moor Street to change to Birmingham New Street and catch a Virgin Train. We arrive at Birmingham Moor Street at 07.54am and we take a short walk through "The Tunnel" where some tramp asks me for a cigarette, which I duly give him, but as I carry on a few hundred yards up the road, he yells for a light, lets just say he had to wait a bit longer. We arrive at Birmingham New Street, where we get some refreshments ready for the journey ahead and then we decide to have a Bacon Roll from Burger King (in honour of Phil Tonks - The Bacon King). After the rolls are consumed, I have time for a bit of "fresh air" before catching our Virgin Train.

We board our train and before we board we have a long walk to Coach A which is at the back of the train, we have the same problem when we alight at London Euston. The train leaves Birmingham New Street and on the journey we stop at Birmingham International, Coventry and Milton Keynes. I pass the time by messaging Phil Tonks via Facebook asking questions about the Stourbridge Interchange opening, later messages turn to Breakfasts (Bacon!), Health and Safety and Extreme and Unusual Health and Safety regarding Mr UKBuses wallet. Whilst this conversation is in place, Mr UKBuses is having a nap and as we pass Milton Keynes, the snoring gets louder to the amusement of other passengers in Coach A. Just before 09.55am, we pull into London Euston and after a long walk to the concourse, it is time for a break outside, which Mr UKBuses has fitted into the plan enabling a "fresh air break" before we start our day around London.

We make our first scan of the Oyster today (and also our cash on the card is topped up on our first scan), this time at London Euston underground station. After we pass the barriers, we get onto the Victoria Line and go a couple of stations, Green Park, where we alight and change onto the Jubilee Line so that we can get to our first planned destination, which Mr UKBuses has kindly put in the plan for me. After being on the Jubilee Line for about fifteen minutes, we alight at North Greenwich and as we leave the station, we can clearly see our first destination, The O2 Arena, a place I will be visiting on Monday 16 April when I go to see the WWE Raw Supershow, which is being taped to be shown on TV in the UK and United States (Plus more countries around the world) so I may be on the TV again following my first appearance last November. After looking where I need to go when I return to London in just over a week, we have a walk around to the bus station, where Mr UKBuses is in snap happy mode and has started his picture count for the day. From here we catch Abellio London's 188 service to take us to The Cutty Sark Dockland Light Railway Station, but as we pass through the streets and see Deptford Fire Station, we realise that we have gone past our stop, so we alight and cross over, where almost instantly another service 188 turns up to take us a short journey back in the right direction and we alight at the right stop. As we alight there is a J D Wetherspoons right in front of us, so Mr UKBuses leads the way into "The Gate Clock" and as I order the drinks, Mr UKBuses makes a mad dash to use the facilities, which he makes good use of with the amount of time he was gone. We have a few minutes break and make our way to the DLR Station which is located at the back of the pub.

We make our way into the station and we make our way down (!?) to the platform where we board and take the short journey to Canary Wharf, along the way we pass The Britannia Hotel bring memories flooding back from my stays there with work a few years ago. As we arrive at Canary Wharf DLR Station we take the short walk to the underground station, where we go on the Jubilee Line once more before changing onto the Victoria Line at Green Park to get to Victoria. We alight and make our way to the ground and into the bus station where works are causing hold ups, but we cannot see any Borismasters being held up, so we head to our second J D Wetherspoons of the day, "The Willow Walk" and also the place we have lunch. I order the drinks and Mr UKBuses gets a table, the same table as we had on our last visit. After perusing the menu we have the normal, BBQ Chicken Melt "without the melt" for Mr UKBuses and Beer and Burger for myself. The meals take a while to arrive, and we delve into the food once they do arrive. We are a little bit let down on this visit with the food, I found my chicken burger to be a bit dry, whilst Mr UKBuses seemed to have had the "melt" and then taken off again before being brought to the table, which Mr UKBuses found out as he saw bits of it on his chicken. We finish our drinks and head back to Victoria hoping to catch the new Borismaster, with two now being in service, our chances seem greater. We arrive at Victoria bus station and no Borismaster is in sight, whilst Mr UKBuses is taking a few photographs, I go to the traffic enquiry office and ask when one is due. There isn't. On Saturdays and Sundays, the Borismaster's are used for driver training duties, so we won't be catching one for a bit. We get on a standard Arriva London service 38.

We are on service 38 for approximately an hour, so Mr UKBuses has his afternoon nap and I also join in, but we do wake up in time for our stop. As we near our destination of Dalston Junction, Mr D9 seems to have lent me his bladder and luckily after alighting, we spot an "on-the-street" toilet and I put my ten pence in and nothing happens, I put another one in and still the door does not open. I want to "spend a penny", have spent a total of "twenty penny's", and now I am still desperate. We have a walk around to see if we can find another "convenience" and after a few minutes we find the local library. Whilst I enquire about the toilets at the enquiries desk, Mr UKBuses sneaks into the toilet and when I get there I have to wait longer. After our visit to the library, we make our way to Dalstan Junction station for a new experience, The Overground. We are only on the train for a few stops, but it was weird, especially as you can see from the one end of the train all the way to the other end. We soon arrive at Whitechapel, using a different entrance to the station lobby, and we then walk the few steps to our London regular, "The Blind Beggar". We walk in and it is Mr UKBuses round, but he must have had a prior word with the Landlord seeing as we order the drinks at the same time, but he asks us both to pay for our drinks separately. Mr UKBuses does give me the money to pay for my drink in the end. We take our seats and the Malaysian Grand Prix highlights are being shown on TV, and the landlord has a chat with us, making our visit today more special and friendly. After we finish our drinks, we say our goodbyes and make our way back to Whitechapel station, this time going on the underground and after scanning in, we catch a District Line train which takes us on the short journey to Tower Hill.

We make our way from the underground and we appear opposite the Tower of London, where we have a short wait for our Heritage Service 15, or that's what we thought. As we are waiting at the bus stop, we see the Routemaster coming, but at great speed . . . straight past us. We have to wait for a normal Stagecoach London operated Service 15, and it seemed that there may have been problems as it is a long wait. During the wait, I notice that Mr UKBuses has not escaped the clutches of National Express, he may have not seen a coach, but he missed the bus stop! The bus does arrive, and we board, but not without being pushed from the back and side as everyone else wants to get a seat too, luckily Mr UKBuses and myself get a back seat and we get comfortable for the journey ahead. This journey is the first ride on a London bus that I did not enjoy, and the driver must have the patience of a saint as all along the journey, people were standing on the top deck and on the stairs despite being told not to again and again, but the worst part of the journey was when someone continually kept on pressing the button. A bit further along the trip, we decide to get off the bus early and have a little walk to Charing Cross, as I walk along the road I can still hear ringing in my ears. Due to the late running of Service 15, we decide to get onto the Northern Line at Charing Cross and go straight to London Euston, instead of the original plan of  walking to Westminster and getting the Jubilee and Victoria Line trains.

We arrive back at London Euston and we visit Marks and Spencer's to get a sandwich for the journey back. After our purchases, we make our way to the concourse and wait for our train to come up with a platform, as we are waiting Mr UKBuses enquires what sandwich I have purchased, I notice that I have picked up the wrong sandwich, so I go back to Marks and Spencer's to exchange it whilst Mr UKBuses waits on the concourse. When I get back to Marks and Spencer's they inform me that they cannot exchange my sandwich as I have taken it off the premises, so angrily, I leave the shop and make my way back to the station concourse where Mr UKBuses is waiting for me and we board our 5.03pm Virgin train back to Birmingham. Before the train sets off, we both make a visit to the toilet before getting comfortable. Mr UKBuses starts to eat his sandwich, but I get the last laugh as I visit the shop for a replacement sandwich and come back with a hot bacon roll (Mr Tonks will be so proud), and after that is consumed we enjoy the ride stopping at Rugby, Coventry and Birmingham International before arriving back at Birmingham New Street. We take the short walk back to Birmingham Moor Street, with no one asking me for a cigarette this time, where we catch the train on a short journey to Birmingham Snow Hill where we change and catch the London Midland service to Stourbridge Junction. Upon arrival at Stourbridge Junction we change platforms to get "The Stourbridge Dodger", with Mr Tonks not seen (he must have been in the break room having a pot noodle). We make the three minute journey to Stourbridge Town and the driver of Black Diamond's Service 276A, kindly lets us on early, saving us a walk to take us back home, I go back home via the Lucky House Chinese takeaway for my now usual post-trip supper.

Despite the late problems with Stagecoach London Service 15, it was a good day out, which was all down to Mr UKBuses and his excellent plan once more, without his plans, the trips could not happen, Thanks Mr UKBuses.