Dear Richard,
this morning I awoke at 5 am in order to catch the Virgin train which would take myself and my 'Lion King' fanatical daughter to London for her Birthday treat. We could also visit the British Museum for a few hours too as she is hooked on the old and the ancient. She's a bright girl;a good girl.
I booked this one and a half months ago and not only were the train tickets booked at that time, I also booked the theatre tickets ensuring it was as close to her Birthday as possible and I was not taking her out of school! (Being the responsible parent I am).
She has saved up her Christmas and Birthday money,picked sensible boots and a warm coat,been up half the night with excitement had several nightmares about losing me in London over the last few weeks....only to arrive at the main railway station after boarding our connecting train at an unmanned country station this morning...to be told we would have to get off the London train get on a coach which would let us resume the train journey with a two hour delay!
Hence our return journey,due to the nature of our tickets would mean us arriving home at almost 2am AT THE EARLIEST.
It's cold.
It's snowing.
There will be queues and standing around.
Alright for me...but not her...she is too young and why the hell should I put her through all of that when she has lived and breathed and slept Lion King for the past 6 weeks?
I took her back...heartbroken now... to the platform from whence we came and quietly ushered her onto the train home. Back into the darkness of the unmanned station. Taxi ride home and doldrums for the rest of the day. You see we opened cards presents and even blew out her Birthday cake candles yesterday as we believed today would be a full day away.
The theatre company will not reimburse me either. I phoned them as soon as we got back.
This is not just about the money; it's about disappointing a lovely little girl.
I just thought you should know.
