Why wait until the last minute?

THE Easter weekend is over and with the Royal Wedding about to happen, we have two more Bank Holidays to look forward to in the next week.  For me, I am counting down the days until I finish my second year of University – now just over a fortnight away.

     I thought today – ‘let’s go into University’ and take advantage of almost an empty environment and get some work done.  I have finished the majority of my assignments this year, except a boring and tedious law exam and evaluations on several topics, where I have to critically assess my work this year.  Typical!  I get to Uni, and the institution is shut!  Why?  It isn’t Bank Holiday Tuesday!  Next up, we will be having a holiday for every political party in Britain.  It is ridiculous.

UNECCESSARY: Why put yourself in this situation?

     Okay, I probably should have checked the university website first before I went in and I only live five minutes away, so it wasn’t like a waste of petrol.  However, give me a break!  It is far from good enough and like I said, it’s not a Bank Holiday, so I don’t understand it!  Does it surprise me?  No, not really.  All the same, it is still incredibly frustrating.

     It also got me thinking about deadlines and getting assignments in on time.  Luckily, I am in a position where I’m not running around like a headless chicken.  In fact, I tried that a couple of months ago and let’s say, it put me in a very bad place.  The relaxed approach I took after March does seem to work.  However, it does get me thinking, why do people wait until the last minute to get work done? 

     For some, it is the way they work.  If so, it can’t be faulted and if that’s how it is approached by them, it’s fine.  However, it could be made a bit easier by getting the job done a bit earlier and quicker.  99% of the time, stuff done at the last minute is nowhere near as good as bits and pieces produced or handed in a fortnight earlier.  I was guilty of that myself at times, especially in Secondary School – largely because it didn’t matter so much.  If I leave stuff until the last minute, I feel frustrated in myself and realise – ‘Crud, why did I decide to take that approach.’  For me, it doesn’t work.  It might do for others, but I always struggle to see the advantages of it.

     Now, some people can just be desperately unlucky and everything they seem to touch goes wrong.  Consequently, I feel for these individuals, who work so hard and get little reward for it.  It wins more respect with me if they have worked hard on a project and are putting the finishing touches to a masterpiece of work just before the deadline.  For those who like wake up at 3pm on the afternoon before a deadline is due and have done like 10% of the work, you’d only have yourself to blame, especially if you had started receiving the work months before.  In my case, some of my assignments begun way back in September 2010, so excuses run thinner than ever before.

     Leaving it till the last minute?  For me, not an option – just an annoying distraction.

The Journalism Gang 2010/11 (University of Northampton)

HAPPY TIMES: The Journalism gang pose before xmas for Unique magazine

EASTER is fast approaching and so too is the end of another academic year.  It is almost two down, one to go.  There can be no doubt that second year has carried its trials and tribulations, for many of us.  I wanted to take the opportunity to share my favourite moments and praise some of you, hopefully giving all of you a lift with the end of second year fast approaching.

Ellie – I think it’s safe to say that Ellie and I have been down a rocky road in 2011, which tested our previously stable friendship right to the edge, or shall I say, needing emergency CPR treatment!  However, the heart hasn’t flat lined and we have a solid foundation which will take something massive to smash it completely.  Ellie is one of the sweetest and cutest individuals I’ve ever met and an amazing friend.  I know I am very lucky to have her in my life.  She is very caring and has always had belief in me and what I am capable of.  This year, she seems to be working harder than ever before and by getting two weeks of work placement with two different newspapers, no-one should criticise her dedication towards journalism.  If Ellie showed a bit more confidence in herself, she could turn into a top-notch journalist.  She also seems far happier this year, especially by being in a loving and very secure relationship with a stable boyfriend.  Ellie will never lose her wild side, and I don’t think she should, because it would take away a major part of her personality.  However, I will always value her opinion by being so close and I hope we will be able to properly rebuild the trust which admittedly has taken a battering so far this calendar year.  What I do know, is without Ellie in my life, it would be far duller, because I love the drama that it comes with!    

Farida – I love being around Farida, because it isn’t just the pickles that she can get herself into, almost quite literally!  It is the dedication she shows.  Farida is a top class writer and has already shown it in abundance.  As far as I was concerned, her feature on shoes in Northampton was a class above anything else in the spring edition of Unique magazine.  She has all the talent in the world and I know she will go onto bigger and better things.  When you throw in the funny arguments with Lauren and the hilarious quotes she comes out with in law, it makes her a complete all-round person.  I think Ellie would win the most dramatic individual award, but if there was one for all-round personality, I’d nominate Farida hands down.  She won’t stop at anything to get her story, as shown also by e-mailing almost every single media organisation ever for work placement, including a caravan magazine earlier in the year!  Although she is going through a host of bad luck at the moment, Farida has the ability to turn it around in her favour and I hope she continues to fight for every opportunity offered to her, because she is going places, big time!  Plus, let’s not forget the love for Enrique, Nicole and the Sky Blues!

Shane – I didn’t meet Shane until the start of this year, but he is a funny and great addition to the group.  Together with me and Tamika, we can have a load of fun in the Tuesday workshop and he did a very good job as our news editor, or shall I say ‘the leader’ for the xmas edition of Unique magazine.  Shane has always helped me out, whenever I need it.  He plays a brilliant role with acting, as portrayed by his role as ‘The Maskman’ in a sound demo I had to do for Film Style & Technique. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2o4QhG8dFOA&feature=channel_video_title)  Shane is an all-round nice guy and I have been very privileged to be in his company this year.  The only tip I’d give to him is, start reading the news on a regular basis!

Tamika – Tamika is a stunning individual, a very caring person and has always been there for me this year.  In fact, without her, I don’t think I could have survived the year.  Not only is it her natural beauty that stands out, but she is a hard worker, who puts in a load of effort and I think it has shone through.  Tamika is a fantastic actress (see our Sound Demo) for evidence, always offers a proper opinion on my work and has taken on the role as group leader in the ‘Parking Problems’ documentary very impressively.  She even taught me some useful editing techniques, which I didn’t know before, despite my passion for it.  She also called me an ‘editing genius,’ which is one of the sweetest compliments I have received this year.  I don’t have a bad word to say about Tamika.  I want to take the opportunity to thank her for the incredible support she has shown throughout this year, which has been a very challenging at times.

Rochelle & Emily – Rochelle and Emily, a brilliant double act who go together as well as Morecambe & Wise, Max and O.B from Hollyoaks and Hamilton & Button in Formula One.  They are better known as ‘The Twinnies!’  Without them, I know I would be in a poorer place.  The three of us have had some brilliant nights out this year, when we can have a real laugh.  Rochelle is a real sweetheart, and I don’t think she has a bad stain on her character.  She wants to succeed and show how hard-working she is.  Her blog on Tumblr is always full of wit and humour and a fun read.  Plus, she seems to have a crush on almost every celebrity bloke around!  It was Rochelle’s recommendation for me to go and watch ‘The King’s Speech,’ and I’m glad she did encourage me to watch a film masterpiece.  As for Emily, she is a brilliant friend and also a very hard-worker.  I haven’t seen much of her this year, besides DTP and the Wednesday nights out at Pennywhistle’s, but she has always been another friend who I can totally trust on and I’m privileged to have around me.  Long live ‘The Twinnies!’

Miles – I may have distanced myself from Miles more this year than last year, but I do still think he is a nice bloke.  I’ve had no problems with him, that’s for sure, even if others have.  Miles has a very strong opinion on many issues, which can sometimes be a real positive thing to have, especially in this competitive industry and it can also backfire.  The row with Hilary in DTP at the beginning of the year, which saw him kicked out of a session showed this.  Nevertheless, I’ve always got on well with Miles, no matter what others think.

Josie – Like Miles, I haven’t seen much of Josie this year, apart from the compulsory law sessions.  However, she is still another close friend and I can always rely on her for support.  The work she put in for the law presentation was very strong and I still feel a bit guilty for having not trusted her a bit more with it right at the beginning of the assignment.  Josie’s strength is definitely in Photography and I bet she is so relieved she dumped Creative Writing, because it was totally the right decision.  Her Photography is stunning and if she follows this path, there is going to be a load of success in it.  I look forward to seeing her documentary, because I think it has the potential to be top-notch.  Josie puts maximum effort into all her work and has a load of potential to do some bright things, not just in third year, but after graduation.

Lauren – Personally, I wasn’t that close to Lauren last year, but I have found her very easy to get on with and enjoy being around her, especially when it comes to those funny arguments with her partner in crime, Farida.  Lauren did some very strong pieces for both editions of the Unique magazine and will say whatever she thinks, without holding back.  There are a lot of people who do hold back on saying things, but Lauren isn’t one of those.  The way she has been totally honest with Creative Writing in telling Leigh what she thinks of him and the subject has been mightily impressive.  The highlight that sticks out in my mind of Lauren this year is the water fight with Natalie during a fire alarm drill on a freezing November Monday evening in law.  It was just pure comedy at its finest!

Chris – Chris is another individual who I’ve always got on really well with and is a clearly a fan of Twitter.  It was touching to see Shane give him 18p the other day, then for Chris to Tweet what just happened lol!  I’ve worked with Chris this year on the ‘Parking Problems’ documentary.  Despite a lack of general paperwork from him, he produced an excellent first script, which it made it very easy for me to create the voiceovers for the documentary.  Not only that, when the pressure was on and the lack of interviews was galling, Chris went out and in just over an hour, got five interviews with students, which turned our documentary from one with potential, which was likely to end up being a major disappointment into a total success.  Not only that, he then didn’t give up with speaking to a security supervisor on the car parking issue last Tuesday.  He constantly went back and forth and got the rewards with a brilliant interview in the end.  Chris’s strengths are definitely in going out and grabbing the interview required and he also did some good stuff for the xmas Unique magazine too.  By being strong in both print and TV, Chris has more of a choice than some in being very strong in two fields of journalism.

Stef – Friday mornings can be a real bummer.  Getting up for a 9am DTP session has never been a load a fun, but Stef can provide that fun and entertainment that can wake me up.  When I thought about leaving myself three weeks ago, Stef was one of those who I asked what she thought of my situation.  She gave me an honest assessment of things, and it was nice to hear it from someone who I don’t always confide in, in retrospect to the usual suspects who I turn to.  Like Lauren, Stef is not afraid of speaking out and saying it like it is and with a camera, don’t come near her!  That’s not in a bad way, but you don’t want to be off-guard and get caught out by Stef filming you for fun haha!  Luckily, I got away with it when I was at my lowest.  She is such a fun person to be around and has a real habit of making me laugh and smile.  Also, if you want random entertainment, check out her and Shamina’s video called ‘Skins,’ earlier last month, it’s brilliant. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co_L_hm4-ag)

Natalie – To be honest, I haven’t seen much of Natalie this year, but she is still a valid member of the group.  The water fight with Lauren in law back in November stands out for me.  She also realised how useless Creative Writing was and stopped turning up to lectures from November onwards for that module.  Wish I’d kinda done the same lol!

James – Honestly, I’ve never always got on really well with James, but I still respect him and he played a significant role in the group-based law presentation before Christmas.  It sounds like he is working hard on his documentary too and like Chris, has no fear in making the phone call or going out to get the interview he needs to strengthen his work.  However, I don’t think turning up late for a load of Hilary’s workshops made him very favourable with Hilary!

Shamima – Aww, Shamima is a real sweetheart and has a heart full of two places, Northampton and Birmingham.  I think she is the most dedicated party girl on the course, though Lauren and Ellie would give her stiff competition.  If anyone has had it tough this year, it is Shamima.  She has had to go home back and forth this year, due to illness and it must have been hard for her to try and keep up with the fast pace of the excessive workload.  At Christmas, I doubted whether she would return, but I never should have.  Plus, when things aren’t going right, she can get rather angry, which she showed in the workshop last week.  Aside from the constant Facebook rape statuses that regularly appear on my News Feed, I had the privilege of interviewing Shamima for a workshop task earlier in the year.  I found out a lot more about her and I opened up to her, which is something I didn’t think I could do.  Together with Stef, they are a very popular double act and go along together like chalk and cheese.  The course needs people like Shamima, so we are all lucky to have her around.

Rheannon – Like Natalie, I haven’t seen much of Rheannon this year, along with Robyn and Amanda.  However, Rheannon was another individual who I opened up to when I had another tough time at the end of January.  She said to me “one bad week doesn’t even come close to the positive weeks you have had.  Think about it, you attend all your lectures, so your initiative mark is going to be perfect and you work so hard, it’s an inspiration to the rest of us.”  It was quite possibly the sweetest thing someone said to me all year and it was a very nice surprise that made things massively better.   

Tom – I haven’t spoken to Tom too much, but he is a good guy who again, you can’t say a bad word about, despite supporting Manchester United (boo!).  So, rubbing it in at Liverpool’s recent Premiership success against United at Anfield was nice to do in the following Tuesday workshop.  If they pull it out, he and Amy could have a brilliant TV piece for ‘Employability Week,’ and I hope they do, because they showed a lot more commitment than for example, me with a rather crappy radio piece.

Nicole – In similar regards to Shane, I only got to know Nicole this year, but she is such a nice person all round.  She works very hard and keeps herself to herself.  Some don’t recognise Nicole, but that’s because she prefers to get on with the tasks in hand, rather than be in the thick of the action.  She is always willing to improve and having read and proofed both of her pieces that got into Unique; I know she can be a very successful journalist.

Amy – Amy is in both my workshop group and in Creative Writing.  Although I don’t see much of her, she can pull some very strong pieces out of the bag.  Whilst Farida’s shoes feature was the best piece in Unique spring edition, Amy’s piece on the homeless over the festive season for Unique xmas edition was simply fantastic.  Amy has the ability to produce the unexpected, which is a good thing, because it can be seen as a real bonus to many employers, almost like a wildcard entry at a major sports tournament.  Plus, she is also a funny character and the new red hairstyle really suits her too!

The rest of you – I couldn’t mention everyone unfortunately, otherwise I would go on for hours.  However, you are all amazing people with various qualities which make you tick.  Even I have to acknowledge the contribution and eccentric attitude of Jonathan! (Gulp!)  I wish you all the best; I know you can all succeed in these remaining weeks.  Remember, the summer isn’t far away now, and you all can lookback on with pride and satisfaction if you conquer this year, which has had its challenges for all of us.

See you all at Uni, take care everyone

Simon

xxx

More BA Strikes - When Will The Dispute End?

The bitter dispute between the Unite Union and British Airways has rumbled on even further, as BA cabin crew are about to start the second day of a five-day strike.  The staff walked out at midnight last night, after constant negotiations between the two parties failed to reach any kind of settlement. 

With more strikes on the way next week, travel plans for hundreds of thousands of passengers are set to be ruined again, with the half-term school holidays on the way, students breaking up for University hoping for a cheap break, and passionate England fans, hoping to get to South Africa in time for the World Cup finals.  With England’s first match against the USA on 12^th June, many fans face heartbreak of being stuck inside a stuffy airport terminal, rather than rooting on their heroes in Rustenberg.

On Monday, BA said it was operating 60% of its long-haul flights out of Heathrow and 50% of short-haul.  They also claimed that Gatwick airport was unaffected by the strikes, and many cabin crew were not supporting the strike and still working, as some need the income to keep family/independent support going.  The latest dispute is over pay demands and terms & conditions within of the agreement.  British Airways has also accused Unite of failing to take up offers of further late-night negotiations and it was disappointed that the union had restored to “negotiation through the media.” 

The boss of BA, Willie Walsh is coming under intense pressure to relinquish his role as head of the company.  It seems that Unite are firmly putting the blame firmly on his doors, rather than on British Airways the company.  Despite recording record losses last Friday, Walsh told ITN that he was determined to fight on and not give in to Unite’s latest demands, as well as putting pressure on the government to give out compensation for last month’s chaotic airline disruption, due to the volcanic ash in Iceland. 

The last stoppages, which took place just on the dawn of the Easter holidays and cabin crew who went on strike back then were not paid.  Unite’s problem is not with this formality, but with the travel concessions towards staff who took part.  They are demanding for these concessions to be restored, otherwise all of the latest strikes will take place.  Latest talks were brought to a standstill on Saturday evening, when union protestors stormed into the venue where negotiations were being held.  Allegedly, they were given the venue’s description by a Union leader via his updates on the social networking site, Twitter. 

Last week, British Airways was granted an injunction to prevent the strikes in the High Court, as they ruled that the Unite union had not reported the results of its strike ballot correctly to its members.  Three days later, an appeal by the union overturned the decision.  Along with this strike, two further five-day walkouts are scheduled to begin on May 30^th and June 5^th.

The dispute, which has dragged on for months between BA and Unite has involved clashes on significant job cuts, working conditions and pay decreases.  Tony Woodley and Willie Walsh are both as bad as one another and one wonders to think when this dispute will actually come to an end.  To be honest, it has brought British Airways reputation to its knees and if someone doesn’t give in and budge soon, it won’t be long before ‘The World’s Favourite Airline,’ may end up facing total extinction.  

Railstrike Averted By High Court - But The War Is Not Over!

Thursday’s high court ruling of a national rail strike was averted, but the war is far from over, as the RMT Union has insisted they are still prepared to strike in the future.

The high court ruled in favour of Network Rail, who granted an emergency injunction against the RMT Union.  With a threat of a rail strike out of the way, Gordon Brown is now firmly widely expected to call an expected May 6^th date for the General Election on Tuesday.  The TUC chief, Brendan Barber is blaming the Chancellor Alistair Darling for him to reduce the country’s budget deficits.  He has warned that if not, more strikes could be the way of action this year, following the Network Rail action and the recent cabin crew strikes from British Airways.

Millions of passengers would have been affected by the four-day strike, which would have started on Tuesday morning.  If the strike had gone ahead, only one in five trains had been expected to run.  In the ballot last week, 54% of those who took part in the RMT ballot voted in favour of a strike, but Network Rail’s claims were reliable that the ballot had been unconventional and unreliable.  Only 112 of 4,556 rail signallers were balloted, which showed a complete lack of inaccuracy.  Network Rail suggested that ‘Ghost Votes,’ were used for the ballot.  Some votes used even included signal boxes that have not been opened or used since the 1960’s.

Signal workers can now not strike on Tuesday and a few hours later, maintenance workers also called off their strike.  It means that now delays and cancellations after the Easter weekend are now very unlikely.  Network Rail said it had unearthed massive inaccuracies in the RMT ballot and that the Union had failed to comply with the 1992 Trade Union and Labour Relations Act.  Over 300 potential votes were not cast.  Areas such as Rugby were not balloted, whereas South Tottenham was.  At South Tottenham, eleven signallers were asked to vote, but Network Rail discovered that only three are employed in the area.

Meanwhile, no resolution is in sight with the British Airways cabin crew strike.  The crew have already taken part in seven days of strike action, and talks between the two parties, Unite Union and BA have grounded into deadlock again.  Both are still blaming one another and more chaos is predicted. 

For now, the rail strike is off, but it is far from finished.  Network Rail may have won this battle, but the war is far from finished.  

Snow Returns - Bringing Tragedy & Carnage

Just when everyone thought that the winter wonderland or winter nightmare, whatever way you think was over, more came over the past week, causing carnage in areas of Scotland and Northern Ireland, but also bringing tragedy to a family, her friends and a community.

17-year old Natasha Paton was tragically killed in a coach crash in the early hours of Wednesday morning, when a school trip went ahead, despite severe warnings of hazardous conditions from the police.  Lanark Grammar School decided to proceed with the outing to the Alton Towers theme park in Staffordshire, and have received a barrage of criticism from parents and fellow pupils.  All have expressed their anger that the trip was allowed to set off from the school in the first place, considering the dangerous conditions around.

Having left the school at 5.30am in the morning, approximately twenty minutes into the 500-mile trip to the theme park, the coach plunged into a river, following the atrocious snowstorms that paralysed Southern Scotland.  Thirty-eight pupils, five teachers and the coach driver were taken to hospital, all treated for injuries.  Five remain in hospital, all said to be in a stable condition.  Strathclyde police insisted the conditions were ‘horrendous, and the snow had a major part to play in the crash.’  It is unclear whether the children, including Natasha were wearing the standardised seatbelts at the time of the crash, though that speculation is seen as unnecessary at such a tragic time for everyone involved.

The parents of Natasha Paton are said to be ‘devastated at the loss of our beloved daughter.’  The school opened yesterday, for specialised counselling and a special assembly of remembrance.  Known as a keen follower of Chelsea football club and a fan of social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, Natasha was said by many to be ‘always happy, wearing a smile on her face.’  Her loss will be felt by many, some as a completely unavoidable incident, should the trip have not happened. 

Meanwhile, across the UK, storms have affected many parts of the country and are set to continue throughout the Easter weekend, boosting the number of the 2million holidaymakers battling to getaway for the weekend, for a trip abroad.  Forecasters have described the weekend to be ‘cold, wet and windy.’  Scotland and Northern Ireland have been almost paralysed completely by the snow, with the Environment Agency putting in seventeen flood warnings in place.  72,000 homes have no power, after numerous power lines came down, with some areas suffering 20 inches of snow falling, even more on higher grounds.

What a wonderful start it is to British Summer Time, it is making a real mockery of the calendar, but that doesn’t matter to the friends and family of Natasha Paton, a young girl, whose ambitions have been taken away in such tragic circumstances.  I only can express my sorrow and condolences to the Paton family for this horrific incident, as the winter chill continues to bite us all in the most worst imaginable ways possible.

Rail Strike Looms - More Easter Misery On The Way

Yesterday, it was announced that a national rail strike would take place after the Easter weekend, which would cause more travel chaos for families planning to get away for a break, and for commuters who will be working through the mess.  The first national rail stoppage since 1994 will begin on Tuesday 6^th April, and run for four days, unless talks are successful between Union leaders and the government in preventing more headaches for many…

This stems from the members of the RMT union, all maintenance workers and signallers, with 54% voting in favour of a strike.  Although yesterday’s news was slightly better, as initial signs had been that a strike would begin on April 1^st, which is scant consolation for the mayhem is set for cause.  The leader of the RMT, Bob Crow announced the strike yesterday and has urged the government to start talking to and to take this threat seriously. 

For Gordon Brown, this threatens to be a complete disaster, compounded by the recent British Airways cabin crew strikes, with more planned this week.  The April 6^th strike date is exactly the same day it is expected that Brown will see the Queen to call a General Election for May 6^th.  Consequently, this is the last thing he needs and if I was a major player in Mr. Brown’s affairs, I would try to get him to delay the date, especially with this latest crisis set to emerge.

Like the BA situation, it’s a cutting issue that has led to the trouble.  The company’s regulator wants efficiency savings of 21%.  Network Rail’s cost-cutting measures could have significant impact, as 1,500 maintenance jobs are set to be lost and signallers could be asked to do some of the jobs that maintenance workers do now, which could be seen as inadequate to say the least.  The dangers of slipping back to the bad times of the 1990’s, with the demise of InterCity, the nationalisation of British Rail and the doomed Railtrack era loom very large indeed.   

The Highways Agency is prepared for the upcoming strike and has announced plans to lift as many roadwork’s as possible, in an attempt to ease congestion.  Network Rail is confident of running a solid timetable during the strike, though I think this more of an optimistic and positive prediction, than a realistic one.  It is now up to the Unions and the Transport secretary Lord Adonis to bang their heads together and prevent this strike from happening; otherwise the losers once again will be the tens of thousands of travellers, whose Easter business and leisure time look set to be disrupted even further.

BA Strike - Two Tribes At War Means Misery For Millions

At midnight last night, cabin crew staff from the ‘world’s favourite airline,’ walked out to start a three-day strike that will have severe ramifications for many’s travel plans this weekend.  British Airways is at the moment in a real mess, it doesn’t really matter who is to blame as the outcome is the same.  Millions will be made miserable and frustrated by the current and upcoming planned strikes. 

Ongoing talks between the airline and the Unite Union collapsed yesterday afternoon, after 48 hours of fruitless negotiation.  The blame game has already begun, following the failure to agree, and both parties are blaming the others for the failure in negotiations.  Prime Minister Gordon Brown has demanded the failure of talks as ‘unacceptable’ and has called for the strike to be called off immediately.  He is unlikely to get his wish though, it is quite possibly the worst nightmare he faces, especially with a General Election d-day looming ever closer.

The three-day strike this weekend is set to be followed by another four-day walkout from the 27^th March.  British Airways claim that 65% of passengers will still reach their destinations this weekend, but I think that is more of a hopeful, rather than a positive statement.  A total of 1,100 BA flights are expected to be cancelled during these strikes, with Heathrow and Gatwick airports obviously being the most affected airports.

The strikes are over the wages that cabin crew staff earn when employed by BA.  With the economic downturn still having its effects, British Airways had planned to cut their budget by 62.5million, which included reduction in their staffing wages.  Obviously, cabin crew have a right to feel annoyed, but I think they are forgetting the job they are doing, and though raising the issue or thinking of a more conventional plan with the management would have been a decent solution, striking was certainly the wrong answer.

Also, with news coming through last night that the railways possibly going on strike on a national basis, for the first time in 16 years over the Easter weekend after signal workers voted in favour of industrial action, also following employment issues, this time with cuts, the torment for people wanting to getaway could be able to get doubly worse. 

It looks like it could well be a miserable Easter for travellers, unless solutions in crisis meetings are found immediately, my advice would be to stay at home and avoid the chaos.