The train arrives on time and stops a few yards short of where I stood, opens and welcomes us in. There were plenty of empty seats so all rushed into the train doing a Right! Right! Right!...... we all went and there were enough seats for us all.
"Victoria line and Northern line are running on 'Special' today"
"Special?.....is that for 'special people?".....laughter erupts through our carriage. So far so good. There's no interruption to our First Capital Connect journey to King's Cross. Stevenage stop came and went.....King's Cross is heaving with hundreds of commuters both inside the concourse and outside. I make
my way to the underground entrance and join the growing queue outside the gate and wait to enter. Five minutes later and I'm inside walking down the steps towards the barrier and then the escalators......Southbound Victoria line to Victoria station......
A train has it's door's mouth opened and I thought luck was on my side.....but alas it was not! The train had been stood there for a while and was PACKED! I deccided it was better to wait for the next train than to attempt to get into this one......so I mentally waved it goodbye when it finally departs. The next train came soon after and I enter and stand. A male voice filters through the tannoy.     
"......where this train terminates at Victoria"
That's fine by me! The train is packed to the brim but I managed to bag a seat at Oxford Circus. The train has stopped in mid flow.....
"......waiting for the train in front to depart from Victoria station" annouced the tannoy...... with an appologise to placify us. I'm not looking forward to my return journey home!

06:50.....Depart from the warm comfort of my home to confront the dark icy chilly white blanket covering the pavements in St Neots. Picture this......The six o'clock alarm screamed at me to get up and I stretched out my right arm searching in the dark for the 'off' button and managed to turn it off, rolled over intending to take advantage of my DOS man being around to give me a lift to the station...... then I remembered! Today is STRIKE DAY.... Courtesy of Transport for London's boss..........Mr Crow...... HUMBUG!
I lept out of my bed, switched on the bedside light and saunter my way to the bathroom. 
07:02.......Arrived at St Neots station, received a big hug and kiss from my DOS man and made my way begrudgingly through the barrier, up the steps, across the bridge and down the steps to platform four. Minutes later I was joined by one train buddy, two train buddies, three, four....nine of us all in all. We greet, we hug and chatted about; the weather, X factor and the weekend.
"I tried to take my plane out yesterday" said the one train buddy who was lucky enough to have his own small plane.
"What happened?"
"Well..... It took about half an hour to scrape the ice off the screen, but then the battery was dead!
"Oh dear!

"Excuse me please, may I?"
"Yes off cause" he smiles, stands and waits patiently as I disrobed; first my gloves then my scarf and finally my coat
"Thank you" I smile and sit
"You're welcome" he smiles and settles down besides me
He is slightly on the large side but tall enough to carry the weight. He had a red fleeced jacket on. His full hair peppered with grey strands. He reads the 'Evening Standards' with one knee up in the air against the small tray in front of him......"How strange!" I thought to myself

Standing on the Northbound Victoria line......"to Seven Sisters only!" screams a male voice on the tannoy. The platform is packed as the train arrives. Once opened there was a rush to enter. I am one of a few lucky commuters to get seated and seconds later the train is full. At Oxford Circus many disembark leaving space along the long aisle. My fingers are crossed hoping to get to King's Cross in time for the 17:10. Warren Street comes and goes - now Euston station and a reminder to "Please remember to take your belongings with you" followered by "Stand clear of the closing doors" and " Please keep your luggage with you"
Kings Cross station finally arrives and as I step out of the mouth of the train, I glanced up at the nearby clock...... 17:04. Anxiety begins to build as I zig zag my way through the crowd, running as fast as I could up the moving escalators, through the barrier and up the short flight of steps. The time is now 17:06....the clock is mocking me with it's rather annoying bright light. I ran up more steps and head straight to the concourse where I eagerly search for my train...... And there it was, in bright neon light 'One' under 'Platform" so once again I zig zag my way through through the maddening crowd to platform one just making it with just a minute to spare

Southbound Victoria line is empty..... Well almost empty. I stand at the platform end chatting to a 'tube' buddy, a gentleman who actually gets on the same First Capital Connect train and at the same station as myself but sits in another carriage hence not a 'train' but a 'tube' buddy
We chat until a train pulls up letting us into it's warm belly albeit it full belly. Fortunately I bagged a seat at Euston station. The train is now full to its capacity and standing room only. Silence lingers throughout and only the ruffle of newspapers cuts through the cold air. Commuters absorbed in their own little world.
Now walking up the Victoria station escalators, through the barrier stopping only to put on my coat, scarf and gloves stopping at Marks & Spencers via Cardinal Place for today's lunch .

07:05 DOS man kindly gave me a lift to the station........door to door service.......on a frosty morning......NICE!
Already on platform four is one of my namesake, all on her own
"Good morning"
"Good morning" followed by a tearful sniff
"What's wrong? I asked?
She shows me a story in the Metro newspaper and I skim through it. Something about a woman who had her car and mobile phone stolen - the end story was her father passed way in hospital because of the theif..... SCUMBAG!
We talk about it and whilst in conversation another train buddy joins us, then another.
07:17 the train arrives and our normal carriage is half empty. I spot only one train buddy on it and we head straight towards him
We talk about our outing to 'Aunties' Thai restaurant in our local town last night, we toasted our new addition to 'our family', we talked about our pending Xmas meal

Compared to where I was yesterday..... Surrounded by bikini clad and barely dressed relaxed people to commuters heavily ladened with overcoats, scarfs and gloves..... I know where I would rather be right now.
The train is quiet apart from an orchestra of coughs and sneezes and the turning of newspapers
The man next to me is fast asleep and has his arms folded and legs slightly apart. His mouth his tightly closed as if you'd need a crowbar to praise it open. At least he wasn't snoring..... Train slows down has it arrives at Hitchin and...... Up jumps my neighbour, grabbing hold of his luggage and disembarking at Hitchin station. Next stop...... St Neots