Sometimes, don't you just feel that there's an awful lot of climbing to do to reach your destination? This week, I'm working in Edinburgh but all the hotels are full and I'm commuting out - 2 stations - to Linlithgow. Now - the station at Haymarket looks like it's only just over a mile from the place I'm training. Yes - it is - but in between is the valley through which the Waters of Leith pass. They've very nice waters - don't get me wrong - but this is one heck of a climb even unencumbered. With pack and overnight bag, it's quite tiring though!

"Three minutes from the Station". I booked on Late Rooms, and the hotel I chose in Linlithgow was advertising this. "Good - that will suite" thought I; I checked out their postcode just before I left the training venue and something didn't add up. For the postcode pointed a couple of miles out of town. That's never three minutes! Well - they think it is. Three minutes by car, but alas, I don't carry a car on the train with me, so it's another half hour's walk uphill. The did advise "Get a taxi". I don't think they know their local station - it doesn't have a taxi rank. And I really doubt that a taxi could do it in three minutes anyway.

But I can report one success. The web site on which I booked has been changed from "three minute from station" to "three minutes drive" from station, so that no other poor bu**ers will book in thinking that they've got a convenient place for work in the centre of Edinburgh. And one concession - I've been given a better room than I booked. I'll admit the hotel's nice - in fact, on holiday, or working at Sun Microsystems (as the building is still labelled) at the bottom of the hill, I would consider it.

Ah well - I'm hungry. Best go down and eat. Countryside hotel, captive diner ... don't I love it!

(written 2011-06-21, updated 2011-06-22)

 Z200 - Places
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  [70] Red Luas - early life and times - (2004-10-02)
  [92] Hard work, Hard sell - (2004-10-18)
  [186] Lull - (2005-01-22)
  [218] Golden Nugget - (2005-02-17)
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  [685] A couple of days away - (2006-04-15)
  [713] Pictures from my travels - (2006-05-07)
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  [730] Reading the newspaper and working with other restrictions - (2006-05-23)
  [740] Finishing up in Dhahran - (2006-06-01)
  [778] Weekend in Ireland - (2006-06-26)
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  [1204] Spot the difference - (2007-05-25)
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  [2624] Skyline and looking up in London - (2010-02-04)
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  [2897] The Land of the Black Labrador - (2010-08-01)
  [2907] Dartmouth, Kingswear and Torbay - (2010-08-07)
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  [3070] Belfast, on a cold November evening - (2010-11-25)
  [3175] The Rhine in winter - (2011-02-19)
  [3185] Day Trip to Hereford, in pictures - (2011-02-26)
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  [3854] Busmans Holiday - I like being a busman - (2012-09-02)
  [4011] From Salford - (2013-02-19)
  [4052] The PHP course this week is in... Salford - (2013-03-26)
  [4125] The first Luas of the morning - (2013-06-29)
  [4182] Welcome to Salford and Oldham - (2013-09-30)
  [4184] A fond memory - (2013-10-02)
  [4203] A weekend away - Four in a Bed returns to Happy Donkey Hill - (2013-11-09)
  [4214] A busy week, and a long flight - (2013-11-24)
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  [4331] Musings on a Welsh town - (2014-11-28)
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  [4411] Location, location location. And a chance of a giggle! - (2015-02-01)
  [4477] Yesterday - off on leg one of our holiday - (2015-04-29)
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  [4486] Newark to New York - the PATH suburban railway - (2015-05-05)
  [4488] Election day, 2015 - (2015-05-07)
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  [4643] From last July (2015) - (2016-02-08)
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Back to Perl from basics

Previous and next or Horse's mouth home

Forward to Comparing Alloa and Melksham - stations and services

A lesson from the sporran market?
Honesty and a friendly welcome goes a long way
DNA to Amino Acid - a sample Perl script
Comparing Alloa and Melksham - stations and services
A lot of exercise this week
Perl from basics
Summer Sundays - days out by train from Swindon on the TransWilts
Why are chefs miserable?
Finding your big files in Perl - design considerations beyond the course environment
The Olympic Torch, and Melksham House