Sunday, 24 November 2019

Sun 241119 Cancelled my own train journey up to Lewisham Hospital...due to time being far too 'late' to leave

I woke up somewhere around 8 AM...thinking lots of thoughts.

8 AM FED CAT

The first thing I did was let the cat in from the back garden; and, fed her. I got enough cat food available to last I should guess, at least, 2 weeks long...will need to top up by purchasing some more.

HOUSE CLEANING/CLEARING STILL TO DO

I have a lot of house clearing/cleaning still to go and do. Including inside/outside of the house...

> house front(hedge needs cutting back)
> and, too, back garden(weeds need cutting down).

NOTE: MULTIPLE BILLS TO GO AND PAY

Lots of bills needing to be paid. I'm the type of person who very easily tends to forget...so, it's very important for me to write these things down...so that I know what bills needs to be paid, immediately, right now...and, which bills can wait until, later. The major bills are...

-> Council Tax
-> Water Rate
-> Electricity
-> Gas
-> TV(license)
-> Broadband Internet
-> Home Insurance
-> Food/drink
-> Memberships (Arts/Amazon Prime/some memberships to be cancelled, too: skillsuccess.com/myblueprint.com)
-> Etc.

2 PM GOOGLED WHICH 'BIKE ROUTE' IT'S POSSIBLE TO TRAVEL ALONG TO GET TO LEWISHAM HOSPITAL 

Want to visit my mum in hospital...so that she won't feel all alone. I wish to keep her spirits up as much as possible...so that she won't just quit wanting to live, anymore; because she is so 'weak'/and, exhausted...not too happy where she is...a place where she never wanted to end up/-etc.

I went and did a Google search to discover how to get to Lewisham Hospital. I found a route...but, it looks pretty long...and, complicated...plus, I never rode my bike along that same route before...so, I really don't know if I will be able to find it/or, not? Or, even if I do find it...how difficult it will be to make my way back home, again.

2:30 PM TOPPED UP MY OYSTER TRAVEL PASS ONLINE BY £15.00

I figured that during the next few days I may need to do some travelling on my own back and forth between both home and Lewisham Hospital.

So, one of the first things I did was to go and visit Transport For London web site...

https://www.tfl.gov.uk

...where I signed in to my online a/c.; and, topped up my Oyster travel card by £15.00.

(NOTE: The previous Oyster Card balance said, £6.xx.; so, in all I should now have, at least, £20.00 available to spend, in future.)

With an Oyster Card...you can choose to travel using public transport...

> Bus
> Train
> Tube
> Tram

...next, I need to work out...which one/or, combination of these public transport methods is it best to use to get to Lewisham Hospital/and, then, return back home, again. Which is quickest/slowest/most or least expensive/-etc.

I also checked out...

https://www.nationalrail.co.uk
https://www.thetrainline.com
https://maps.google.com
https://www.streetmap.co.uk

6:30 PM TRIED TRAVELLING TO LEWISHAM HOSPITAL; BUT, WAS DEEPLY DISAPPOINTED AT BEING TOO 'LATE' - HAD TO RETURN BACK HOME, INSTEAD
I tried to make my way over to Lewisham Hospital...it's not a route I know...having never travelled there before from West Norwood.

However, I did do an internet search to try and discover how to get there.

One suggestion I saw was it's possible to use train...

1> From West Norwood train station take the next train to Peckham Rye
2> From Peckham Rye take the train to Lewisham
3> From Lewisham take the bus to Ladywell
(walk around the corner to Lewisham High Street...turn left, and, walk down towards Lewisham University Hospital)

I went to West Norwood train station...and, there waited for the London Bridge bound train to take me to Peckham Rye.

A train came; but, I didn't realise it was Victoria bound...so, in my hurry to get there, I hopped on...the next stop said, Streatham Hill...and, immediately, I realised I was on the wrong train.

I had to get off that train...walk across to the other side...in order to take the train back to West Norwood.

Well, the next train that was coming...was cancelled...which mean, I now had an 1/2 hour wait to get another one. Eventually, I gave up...and, decided, instead, to go and try taking bus.

I walked out of Streatham Hill train station...; and, took the 147 bus up to Elder Road....got off at Elder Road bus stop...with the intention of taking a 68 bus from West Norwood up to Camberwell; then, from Camberwell taking a 75 bus to Lewisham.

However, by the time I had arrived all the way back at West Norwood train station...I looked up at the time...and, it said nearly 8 PM. I thought to myself...8 PM is visitor closing time.

So, I decided to return back home...to check what is the hospital visiting hours. I phoned Lewisham Hospital on: 0208 333 3000; and, spoke into the phone Chesnut Ward...the nurse I spoke to...said the visiting time was: 2 PM - 8 PM.

8:15 PM PHONED TREVOR AND MILLICENT

I next phoned my cousin, Millicent and her husband Trevor.

They said, they did go and visit that evening...and, they had tried to phone me, first...to take me there; but, when they received no reply...they decided to leave for the hospital without me.

They said they saw my mum, asleep...and, didn't wish to wake her up...so, they stayed there for a while...spoke to the nurse who said she had refused to eat cheese and baking potatoe...and, instead, had a yougart. Then, they said they had left the hospital.

They also went and mentioned that it's possible to get a bus from Crystal Palace over to Lewisham. Which meant I should have stayed on the 147 bus...which was going towards Crystal Palace...and, then, tried taking another bus from there. However, I didn't know that.

CONCLUSION

When I'd started my going out trip...my Oyster card travel balance said £21.25. I was charged £2.10 just to travel to the very next stop from West Norwood, Streatham Hill; and, charged a further 0.75p for the bus trip from Streatham Hill over to Elder Road. My Oyster card closing balance now says: £18.40.

In short, the whole entire journey I made was really a 'big' mistake...in that I lost money going nowhere! On top of it all is the guilt and shame I feel for not having seen my mum, today.

Anyway, there will be a next time to try, again, tomorrow.

I also discovered my walking legs are not the same, anymore. I walked slow...and, didn't feel much energy/strength. I think, that's mainly because I'm used to travelling by bike...; and, also, for longer journeys would use public transport train.

I need to try either walking/running around the block more, frequently; in order build up both my leg strength; and, also, to improve my stamina more.



No comments:

Post a Comment