On travelling alone by train for the first time in almost a year

Today, I managed to travel to and from London by train, alone, and this feels like a personal achievement that my supporters will enjoy sharing with me. The only strangeness was the ordinariness of the day. After so much time in hospital then living a very secluded life being out in the hurly-burly of life was challenging but fine.

One or two things did strike me: how little changes with some train staff, mainly men on-board staff, who can create such a negative atmosphere so quickly it is almost a gift. The staff of East Midlands Trains at Leicester were excellent but those at St Pancras are unbelievable: scruffy, borderline rude, determined to speak a version of English which puts off not only foreigners but even the locals. The lack of communication and cooperation with the St Pancras staff is hard to understand. The St Pancras staff also need some beefing up. Today's arrival woman was simply not up to the task. It really is not good enough for a disabled person who has asked for arrival help, on being helped down to the platform, then has to feel bad about asking for a push for the length of a Eurostar train. I thought the expectation was that if you arrived on the EMT platforms and were heading to the Eurostar entrance you would be helped down there.

 The departure woman was marginally more skilful. I was still put on an empty train 45 minutes before its departure and could not see anyone else. She said she wanted me on board before she went off duty, so I was grateful for her thoughtfulness there.

Why does it have to be like this? All I had to do was move a few hundred metres from the EMT arrivals disaster area and go into Carluccio's where such a different atmosphere exists - largely created by the large number of Italian staff. The contrast with EMT and St Pan staff is marked.

St Pancras itself is starting to look shabby already. The nadir today was the lavatories on the man concourse. They are down a slight incline. The incline stops the door of the disabled wc being fully opened. The state of the facility was disgusting. I asked a person who seemed to be on duty to do something about it. He came back with a mop and tided things up somewhat. Later, I noticed the whole facility had been closed. I will spare readers detailed photographs of the evidence.

It looks as if St Pancras needs a good reviewing as to its facilities. As with airports, the shopping experience seems to have overtaken more basic needs - such as the lavatories.

Finally, the EMT staff at Leicester station seem to be working hard to make the passenger experience as good as it can be amidst the extensive work that is going on. I look forward to the new station.