pmsumner

Very frustrated by the collusion between the bus companies and the local Cineworld. There's only 1 bus every 2 hours on a Sunday to Halton Lea, and the train service to Runcorn East isn't much hotter. Well actually it's much better but combining it with a bus to Halton Lea then finding a film I want to watch at the same sort of time-ish?

Impossible.

Not only that, but then getting home is a nightmare of unimaginable proportions. It's either a 1.5hr wait after the film, in a shopping centre which will be closed and dead, or a taxi ride. Am trying to avoid taxis... you know, I might be better off going to St Helens... How sad is this? To go to the Cineworld at St Helens is not only quicker, but more frequent? Yet it's twice the distance.

Well, a kindof day. I set out at 11:45 to go to Wigan and see The Sentinel at the Cineworld there. As observant followers may remember, the reason for going to Wigan is that there's at least 1 bus/train combination an hour I can get from there, whereas from Halton Lea (Runcorn) there's only 1 every 2 hours. If I'm lucky.

It all went remarkably smoothly. I was on the train before the one I expected, I got a bus within minutes of arrival, to Robin Park, with a nice driver who promised to tell me when we got there as I had absolutely no idea where I was going. The film was ace - not as good as The Interpreter or The Constant Gardener, which I suspect were the catalysts for the current rash of political thrillers, but really enjoyable.

The only disaster point was when I wandered out the place, I saw a bus stopped at some traffic lights that looked like it was going where I was going (I subscribe to the Dirk Gently method of navigation). I spied a bus stop and ran to it - only to find the bus didn't actually go to that bus stop and it went a different way. D'oh. Then on inspection of the timetable found there was only 1 bus an hour on Sundays!

Decided to walk. In all wasn't too far, about 30 mins walking I guess. Probably less if I had known exactly which direction to go and hadn't had to inspect random bus stops to see what direction I was walking ;) The train from Wigan North Western to Warrington was immensley crowded, the London trains always are on a Sunday afternoon/evening though, from memory.

So for a 2 hour film, I was out from 11:45-16:45. Not a bad travel:film ratio ;)