Yesterday, as I said in an earlier post, was the big sing. Several hundred schools, including ours, linking live with the choirs at the O2 to sing a song which i didn't like much before and like even less now. It was quite emotional singing though, after cramming 600 children into a hall and them singing along at the same time as the children at the O2.
I left work immediately afterwards, collected hubby from home and started to make my way down to the O2 where my son was taking part in the young voices choir. 3.30 we were on the M1 motorway. Plan was in an hour and half time we would be at the O2, get something to eat ( I had eaten a jacket potato at lunchtime, hubby had had a sandwich) then make our way to our seats.
Didn't work out that way though.
Now here I have to explain, the letter from the school said that if we wanted to pick our children up after the performance and take them home with us we could otherwise the coach would be back at the school at 10.30. Hmm. Originally we were going to go down by train, but after finding out that we could bring our child back with us, we opted to go by car instead.
Remember we were on the motorway at 3.30. Last time we went to Greenwich was in May to meet up with Meno, it took and hour and a half to get there. The same route, yesterday, took us three hours! yes that is right. Three hours! Why? Well not just roadworks but the inconsiderate bastards that can read a sign that tells you that a lane will be closed, then periodically counts down 600m, 400m, 200m etc, you would expect that the cars in that lane would move over in plenty of time therefore reducing the need for the traffic to be held up and allowing it to run smoothly. However, if you are an inconsiderate driver who thinks that getting one car in front is going to make you go that bit further, let me tell you now it doesn't. So the person who very nearly took the front of my car off, because after running out of road to drive on, tried to force his way in front of me, causing me to swerve slightly, hit the horn and swear at you I only hope one fine day you will get your comeuppance and believe me it is more than deserved, though in all honesty you will probably get off scott free and kill the innocent driver you ploughed into instead due to you being fucking inconsiderate shit!)
so all those people who tried to force their way in, held up the traffic and we sat outside Bromley by bow station for over 30 minutes, not moving while those cars to the left of us tried to get that one car in front!
Don't start me on the roadworks. Tell me why is this country full of flipping roadworks? Almost every road we went down was coned in some way but did you see anyone working on the road? Did you hell as like. No one to be seen but lots of red and white cones, signs telling you that you can only do 50MPH even though it is a motorway, people flashing you because they have come up behind you and you are obeying the speed limit but they think they have the right to flash you because you are going too slow for them!
So eventually we arrive at the O2. We find the car park, the attendant gives us a ticket and we go in search of a parking space. Now this is another rant. Sitting there waiting to find that elusive parking space but unable to move because the parking attendant then decides that all the coaches should be given priority. By this time steam is coming out of my ears, I am tired, hungry, need the loo and the journey has taken twice as long as normal. In fact it would have been easier to travel to Wales! So I decide to let my feelings known and am allowed through. No one, not one person in that car park has any clue whatsoever how to park a bloody car. Spaces that could have fitted two cars in were taken up by one car because the person couldn't be bothered to get his/her car in the lines. Mind you the lines weren't that clear I admit. Have you seen the car parks at the O2? They are dreadful - not very clear, very badly lit and people seeming to park their car where the hell they like. The attendant, decided I needed personal service and showed me to a parking space. Hubby jumps out as I start to reverse the car, in order to feed the hungry mouth of the machine. I reverse the car, I am perfectly straight. I open the door and find that I can't get out of it. So I manoeuvre the car so that I can get out of the drivers side with a tight squeeze. I then notice that if the driver of the car comes back to his car then he will not be able to get into his car as we are almost touching. I then notice the reason for this is he is parked at a slight angle and is over the white line, so decide to leave the car where it is and let whoever the driver is worry about it and perhaps he will then learn how to drive and park his huge 4x4 in the future - well one lives in hopes anyway!
The car park is dreadful, there is loose tarmac, stones and pot holes everywhere. We eventually manage to find the entrance go in and head towards the ladies and gents before finding our seats - right at the top of the dome and to the side - not best placed position. Hungry, no ravenous, we stop at the bar and hubby decides we need chocolate.
"Two pepsi's, two kitkats (only two finger kit kats available) and two lion bars please" he asks the attendant behind the bar.
"Pepsi's?" she says
"yes"
She pours them out, says something to another assistant and puts two kit kats on the counter.
"That all" she enquires
"no we want two lion bars please" Says hubby.
"Oh sorry," she says, picks up the kit kats and starts to put them away.
"No" shouts I, "we want the kit kats and the lion bars please"
"kit kats or lion bars?" she asks
"Both" we say in unison
She huffs and puffs and tuts, says something to her colleague in a language they only understand which, I am sorry to say, I was a little peeved about because I can only imagine what she said as she nodded her head in our direction and I can feel blood pressure rising. In the meantime, another colleague puts two plastic pints of beer like fluid in front of us.
"becs" he says, then says to the colleague serving us "becs" and points to the till.
"What?" says hubby "We didn't ask for that"
"You don't want?" our server asks. "You ordered it"
"No we didn't" says I, "I don't even drink beer!"
So she picks them up, hands them to her colleague and says "THey don't want them now!"
At which point I lose the plot just a little and tell her what I think in no uncertain terms of the service we have received at which point her supervisor asked us what the matter was and I told him exactly what it was before walking of.
So the price of two two finger kit kats, two small pepsis and two lion bars?
8 bloody pounds! A total ripoff!!!!!
I have to say though, the concert was brilliant, seeing all those choirs from all the schools was great and yes I have ordered the DVD. Wasn't impressed with the woman who introduced the acts as she screamed - a lot, and we all found it difficult to understand what she was saying. The ligting was dreadful, we got blinded on several occasions by it and where we were sitting meant that we were cranning our necks to see the stage so by the end we all had severe neck ache.
I am not impressed with the O2 at all. The service we got was poor. The way it is set out could have been better, it is appalling. Ok I appreciate it wasn't meant as a concert arena originally but it really is poorly designed, and for the amount they charge for food/drink you would think they could afford to tarmac the car park properly!
It did only take us an hour and a half to get home, thankfully, though I went to bed hungry and very tired at 1 this morning which meant that I felt like a zombie all day. We had at least a 20min headstart on the coach bringing the children home, so glad I collected my child from the arena itself. We didn't get home till 12.15 this morning and remember the school letter informed the parents that the children could be collected from school at 10.30. 1pm before they finally made it back to the school gates, I bet there were a few unhappy parents!
I won't be going to the O2 again in a hurry - if we go again it will be by train.
).
