Pip pip cheerio
It's been... 25? 26? days since I'm back and I've been procrastinating
So after the Matthew Macfadyen brain rot in Jan-Feb and the Rory Kinnear brain rot in Mar-Apr, I went on a Taskmaster binge. And woof, the rabbit holes I went down lol... But that's another story.
Anyway, because of that, I found out that Taskmaster started as an Edinburgh Fringe show back in 2010. I've known about the Edinburgh Fringe since I think at least early 2000s because of all the comedians on British panel shows and I was like, hmm... I wonder if I should go this year if I still haven't found a job. And promptly forgot about it for a while.
Until I had to renew my passport in Jun. Finally got it renewed after a long delay because everyone wants to renew their passport and travel since the travel lanes are opening up. And I'm like, hmm... I've gotten a few interviews and no job offers so far. I wonder if I really should go this year. Edinburgh Fringe is a month long thing and I could stay the whole month if I want to. Since, y'know, jobless.
Well, I also did a quick sum in my head and the amount I'll be spending in that 1 month will be the same as how much I'll spend in 1 year if I didn't go. But both James and Shaf said to go ahead since I'm probably never gonna get another chance. *whines* Alright, I'll check it out first and oh! It's actually the 75th anniversary. Now I really hafta go.
So I did. Booked plane tickets and accommodations and tickets to shows in EdFringe and train tickets to get to and from Edinburgh from London in end Jun. Agonized and lost sleep over itinerary and packing for many days over the entire July.
Then I saw the whole thing about Heathrow and the strikes and plane delays and cancellations and lost luggages and stuff. Damnit.
And then I saw that there's gonna be rail strikes during the exact day I'm gonna travel from Edinburgh to London. And when I'm taking the train from London to Cambridge.
Then I saw that there's gonna be a tube strike during the day I'm going to Oxford and need to take the tube to where the train station is.
Goddamnit. This trip is fighting me every step of the way even before I reached the UK.
That's not all! Troll Dad contracted COVID the week before I was supposed to fly to UK. Then The Mother caught it from him a few days later. I finally succumbed to it 2 days before I was supposed to fly. GODDAMNIT. This trip is really kicking my ass even before I fly there.
I was hoping I could get better by flight time but TM said I should just postpone it til I'm officially out of quarantine since I'll be feeling like shit even if I miraculously tested negative in 72h.
So I had to cut my stay in Edinburgh short by 4 days and miss Frankie Boyle's show. I couldn't book a new show because it's sold out by the time I postponed everything. That's my biggest regret sigh...
I really enjoyed my time at Edinburgh and going to the Edinburgh Fringe shows (oh to be able to see all these people whom I'm used to watching on TV coz they're literally thousands of miles away) and I kinda regret I didn't extend my stay but I already had my trips to Cambridge and Oxford scheduled right after. Didn't wanna F with rescheduling again seeing how much this trip is F-ing with me already. (Related note, James said I should go to Dublin to complete the trip but I really don't want to change up my itinerary and get F'd by transportation again.) Met up with James' friend on my last day too! I'm so glad I didn't reschedule to extend my stay because the day after I left Edinburgh, they started the bin strike.
And also, because of the rail strikes, I managed to take some of the trains at another timing and it was not that crowded. Pretty great! I could also try to claim refund on the industrial action days so fingers crossed. Speaking of which, I completely forgot I could claim delay repayment! My train from London to Edinburgh on the first day was delayed for more than 30mins. Only found out when I tried to claim refunds for the rail strikes that took place on 18-20 Aug. I missed the window by a few hours jfc... had to email them but they didn't get back to me so I also sent over a paper form, paying S$1.85 for postage jfc... Luckily it got through and I got the delay repayment. It's in cheque form tho so I'm gonna need to waste S$10 on foreign currency cheque deposit fees. Sigh...
Anyway, because of COVID, I didn't stay in Edinburgh as long as I wanted and ended up staying in London longer than in Edinburgh. Went strolling about all the main tourist attractions on the first week. Ate the most expensive fish and chips in my life in Greenwich. Saw a lot of the theatres and sights that were familiar to me thanks to my Rory Kinnear brain rot. Finally managed to watch that NTLive recording of Of Mice and Men with Chris O'Dowd (speaking of which, I cannae believe he was there at EdFringe while I was there and I didn't see him out and about). Felt ridiculously happy to walk down the Millennium Bridge because of that poster of The Split lol... Went a bit out of London Zone 1 to find the Taskmaster house and caught a glimpse of the roof and the white picket fence around the caravan lol...
First day in London, saw the poster for Upstart Crow at the Apollo Theatre in the tube station. Goddamnit... it starts on 23 Sep. Maybe I should've went to UK in Sep instead... James told me to jump plane lmfao...
Then I saw that they're doing a Taskmaster meet up event at Chesham on 17 Sep. Goddamnit.
And then I saw them doing Taskmaster taping on 22-23, 26-28 Sep for the next series. ARGH! I really should've gone in Sep instead. Sadface...
London transport F-ing me one last time before I leave. I was so happy when I saw that I could take the Piccadilly line direct from Russell Square all the way to Heathrow Terminal 4. But few days before I had go to the airport, I saw that the Piccadilly line is partially closed so there's no service from Hammersmith onward. JFC... Had to change to Paddington to take the Elizabeth line and the fare is at least 3x more expensive. And because I went to the wrong side of the tracks at Paddington, I had to haul my luggage up the overhead bridges and down again so my arms was so sore that last day. At least the airport hotel Premiere Inn was quiet and had a tub to soak in. And TV too! Staying at student hostels may be cheaper but nothing beats having your own bathroom and TV.
Almost didn't make it home on time because I didn't do online check in early enough so I didn't get booked through onto the flight back from Abu Dhabi to Singapore and because of flight delays from London Heathrow to Abu Dhabi, I almost didn't get a seat on the plane. I had to check at the transfer counter 3 times and some of the people before me in the queue during the 3rd time had to stay at the airport hotel for a day until the next flight at the same time the next day. Finally luckily I got a boarding pass! Almost didn't get through security in time too because the queue was so long and the checks were so slow. Luckily a nice passenger assistance guy let me follow him through the queue but I got cut off halfway because the other people in the queue thought I was jumping queue--which technically I am. The security guys finally just said FTS and let us through. Phew!
The day I reached Singapore, DHL finally delivered my phone which I ordered back in July hoping it'll get to me before I fly in Aug. I made a joke about reaching SG before my phone and it mostly came true. Unfortunately I fell asleep so deeply and completely that I missed the doorbell and had to reschedule for delivery the next day lmfao.
And then I procrastinated and slept in and I'm back to my old bad habits for days and weeks and it's now the last day of the month. Sigh... I haven't even pack away the notes and stuff from the trip.
Now where did I keep my other old travel notes and stuff again?
Oh and who can forget... 4 days after I'm back (because of the time difference even though technically the date is 08 Sep and I'm back on 05 Sep), Queen Elizabeth II died.
What timing!