Blasted public services

There are a lot of people here in the Work the World House (Yes I know that makes it sound like the Big Brother house, and frankly at times thats not far from the truth) who are going to be leaving this weekend. As a result of all the packing and triple checking of flight plans, I decided to check all of mine:
- on the 25th of April I am evicted from the house, after returning from Kilimanjaro at 9pm the previous night. I then have the 6 hour overland drive, crossing the border with Kenya (something that does fill me with slight trepidation, due to potential for delays) to arrive in Nairobi airport - and from what I have heard from people who flew in, it does have the air of ramshackle operation about it. One of the girls had to carry her own bags out to the plane on the tarmac, where they were all then unceremoniously thrown into the hold - the bags not the people that it! I'm hoping with an international, rather than a internal flight, a BA flight at that, that they will be slightly more professional.

My flight leaves at 2350 on the 25th and after 8.5hrs, arrives in Heathrow at 0625, so I'm gaining time. It is at this point that the problem arose. I said that I flew on the 25th, technically correct, and someone kindly purchased a train ticket, to allow me to experience the horrors of the public transport system. Can you see where this is headed yet? Of course the ticket is only valid on the 25th of April, not the 26th when I actually need it.

Thus a rapidly typed, grovelling email has been sent to NationalRail to see if they can help change the tickets without too much of a problem, but at this moment, anxiety is running slightly high.

I'm hoping that I get a reply tomorrow, before I ascend Meru tomorrow, but to be honest, I've been looking at these mountains for so long now, its doubtful that anything could actually dampen the trip. At the moment the mountain is bereft of clouds in the early morning as we walk to work, and by approx 1000 it has been wreathed in clouds again. But even though it looks like I'll be getting wet up there, I'm still almost giddy with excitment. 0830 Saturday morning, when the guide picks me up from the house, cannot come soon enough.