Sunday 4 December 2011

I'm late! I'm late! For a very important date!

Welcome readers to the final Sunday Storytelling for 2011.  I've managed to join in each month with a variety of stories from my childhood, my children's childhood and the present day and each month I have enjoyed reading a whole host of interesting tales from other joiner-inners!  So I couldn't miss out this month - I'm a finisher-offer :-)

My story begins early one Friday in late November.  I was making my final preparations before setting off for a weekend away with several fellow bloggers.  Not one of whom I'd met beforehand.  Scary stuff.  Although I'd followed several of their blogs for a while, and exchanged e-mails with a few, it wasn't as if I really, really knew anyone and yet here I was about to scrap with them, eat with them and even (thanks to the budget bunk-bed accommodation) sleep with some of them!

The Telford Ten (not really that scary in real life):
Lesley, Alexa, Lizzie, Julie, K, Clair, Mel, Ruth, Jo & Me
Not to worry though, I told myself - you have mobile numbers, directions, supplies (both of the paper, scissors, glue variety and edible) and you've got your big girl pants on.  I had offered to collect Ruth from the station as it was more or less on my route - which had the added advantage that we'd both have met one person before arriving officially!  So I programmed my satnav and set off with plenty of time to spare - I did not want to keep her waiting!

Now, I am frequently 5-10 minutes late because things crop (pardon the pun) up at the last minute and today was no exception: I remembered I had to get some cash and buy milk to leave at home for my family, but I had factored in plenty of leeway - no problem!  Off I set and made good progress southwards.  The train was arriving at 13:50 or thereabouts and after half an hour or so I decided to check my predicted arrival time on the satnav ... OH NO ... I must have miscalculated (bad show for someone with a degree in mathematics) as it was saying that I was due at the station at 14:10!

Oh dear, oh dear - what a terrible first impression I was about to make.  Poor Ruth - left waiting at a strange station!  I put my foot down and drove as fast as I safely could - shaving a minute off the arrival time here, another one there ... getting closer and closer to the dreaded 13:50.  Maybe her train would be late!  That would be good (sorry Ruth).  Luckily the traffic was fine and, despite going slightly wrong on one of the final roundabouts, I pulled into the car park at exactly 2pm.  Phew - just 10 minutes late. Not bad considering!

I immediately phoned Ruth to tell her I'd arrived ... and she said she was still on the train.  Thank goodness I thought - her train is late!  (deeply sorry Ruth)

Yup - it's leaving in 5 minutes she continued.  Leaving?  I thought. Where??
I'll be there in about 50 minutes.  What?
OK I said, nonchalantly, I'll see you soon.  Strange.  Maybe I'd got the train time wrong?!

It took me a moment or two of glancing back and forth between my watch, the arrival time on the satnav and the car clock before the penny dropped ... my satnav was still on British Summer Time and I wasn't 10 minutes late ... I was 50 minutes early!

Ironbridge Canal at sunset
It might have been budget accommodation but it was very beautiful
I didn't let on to Ruth or anyone else as incompetence wasn't quite the vibe I wanted to put across for the weekend. The cat is well and truly out of the bag - but I'm hoping it will now just add to my charm for the rest of the Telford Ten!

Want to read the final 2011 exploits of other bloggers?  Pop over to Siân where there will be plenty to choose from.

P.S. If anyone knows how to reset the clock on a TomTom Go 520 please let me know because it's still stuck on BST!

32 comments:

Amy said...

Oh Jemma, far too funny indeed! I am no help with resetting the time on your TomTom though ... I am sure no one thought there was any incompetance whatsoever as far as you were concerned!
Merry Christmas to you and your family.

Lisa said...

He he! Pesky summer/winter time! :-)

Great photo!

Unknown said...

Well firstly Jemma, it will all be fine come March if it isn't sorted before then :)

Great story, I did the same thing in march this year picking up my teamie from Gatwick and panicking the whole time, even knowing I would probably be early, and then wondering if I was lost and how late I would be.....stressy! How lovely when you finally meet though :) Fellow scrappers are the best aren't they. I actually find they are even better in real life.
Jen xx

Melissa said...

Thanks for sharing this story - I needed a good laugh! :>) I hope you had a good book with you to enjoy while you waited!

A Very Merry Christmas to you!!

Maria Ontiveros said...

LOL! Isn't it fabulous to meet blog friends?
Rinda

Beverly said...

that is hilarious! Thanks for sharing your stories this year :)

Lizzie said...

And all weekend you said nothing... How restrained of you. You needn't have worried about telling us - we would have had plenty of BST Fail stories of our own (though the end of November is quite late to discover that problem). I drove for 6 months with my car clock an hour out, because I kept forgetting to reset it before I started driving along.... Duh!

But it was great to see you and you looked cool and calm - if you had never told us, we'd never have guessed!

Hope you were happy with the "budget bunk beds"? I'm trying to think of another way to have a good weekend away, with our own rooms, but still keep costs low enough... Hmmm a challenge!

Love the photos - especially the sunset one!

scrappyjacky said...

Definately brought a smile to my face....just the sort of thing I'd manage to do!!

Miriam said...

Love this story Jemma, how cool of you to keep it to yourself for the whole weekend! The picture says you had a happy weekend and I love the sunset.

K said...

Hahaha, you nutter :-D
Least you got to try the Eustons culinary delights & awful coffee :-)

Miss Smith said...

This is hilarious! I'm sorry you had to wait all that time, but you did make me giggle :D

Glad you had fun at the crop - I've got my fingers crossed for another one so I can come!

Anonymous said...

Great story - I loved the big girl pants comment too! Glad you had a lovely weekend together

Gem's Crafts said...

Oh this story did make me giggle! Hope you had a lovely time away at the crop, and you get your Sat Nav sorted soon!

Ladkyis said...

That takes me back to my freeform roleplaying days at Ilam Hall YH. bunk beds and mixed sleeping and we call them the good old days!
Thank you for stirring up memories
Merry christmas

happysnapper said...

so funny, how wonderful to experience early for the first time? was it great?

Kirsty.A said...

I once arrived an hour early for a lecture at collefge for the same reason. Couldn't understand why it was so quiet

Irene said...

Sounds like you had a fun crop and the weekend created a great story. Have a wonderful holiday season.

Sian said...

Very funny! And a lovely story of friendship in blogland to finish up your series.

Your contributions every month have been much enjoyed and appreciated by us all.

Merry Christmas Jemma!

Susanne said...

Great story, I could almost feel you pressing on the accelerator to shave those minutes off. It sounds like you had a great time from the start.

Tracy said...

Ha ha, love it. I can see myself doing something like that.

Becky said...

Oh, this really made me laugh and I didn't see it coming either! I haven't even checked the time on my satnav so it probably is still on summer time! Thanks for sharing and I'm glad you managed to get there in plenty of time. Merry Christmas!

Mary B said...

Oh Jemma that is too funny for words, good job it was winter time and you on Summer time and not the other way around.

Sandie said...

How funny, that's the sort of thing I see myself doing. Hope you had a great time. How lovely to meet so many blogfriends - lucky you. Looks like you had a great time.

furrypig said...

you did well keeping that one quiet! I was not worried at all about you being late as I would have happily sat at our meeting point and had a cuppa. It really was fab to meet you and share so much, I thought my room mates were great so would be happy to share in the future xxx

Anonymous said...

What a great laugh reading your story. Makes me remember we've got check ours. Sorry I can't help with yours as ours is a Garmin. Merry Christmas.

Jo said...

What a great story, it really made me laugh. At least you weren't late :)

Alison said...

It would never have occurred to me that Satnavs have clocks..and yes, I DO realise how stupid that sounds! My car clock is still an hour fast,as I keep forgetting to reset it, and I go into a mild panic for a moment or two if I glance at it without remembering that fact!
So glad that you all had such a great time ...am hopeful to be able to join you next time
Alison xx

scrappysue said...

Great story and totally something I would do. I once had a boss who kindly said to me once (after I totally messed up our getting to London on a train) "you do seem to be the sort of person who has little adventures". Glad you enjoyed the weekend, I would have loved to have been there! x

Cheri said...

I could totally see me doing that - but then, it all worked out in the end, right? Glad you enjoyed your weekend!

Fiona@Staring at the Sea said...

This strikes a chord, because it's just the kind of thing I would do! So sad to have missed out, due to the coach timetable, but the money I saved I spent on.......a sat nav! Wishing you very Merry Christmas. Fiona xx

alexa said...

And I didn't even know all this! You looked super organised by the time I got there ... The photos made me feel nostalgic and I was only there for a few hours. It was wonderful. :)

JulieJ said...

oh Jemma - you do realise that if you'd let on i would have been able to show you how to reset the clock. Lovely photo of the sun setting (I know it wasn't rising LOL) over the cut (as we call canals in the midlands).

P.S. That post's done now and I must be off to bed.