My visit to Derby

[Undertoad]

And I'm back!

PHL to Heathrow-
to Heathrow Express at Terminal 5-
to Paddington Station
to King's Cross via Underground
walk to St Pancras for East Midlands train
to Derby
to the hotel,
to work and back for five days...

And this morning, up at 5:15am Derby time to catch the 6am train back through that return round, landing at 4pm Philadelphia time where J waited for me.

I would not try to do that schedule again. Exhausting.

Got upgraded to business class for the return flight! British Airways was very strong both flights. Good food good wine. Customs both ends was under 5 minutes. Security both ends was under 10 minutes.

Signage around London Transport is perfection.

Our American credit cards are no longer guaranteed to work in European systems, because they use the chip-and-PIN system with a smart card that holds your password. I think they must use that system because it doesn't require the vendor to be online in order to process a password-protected transaction. The American "swipe" system was confusing even to the hotel's front desk personnel. (They didn't know the meaning of the term "last 4 digits", which is part of the password protection for our system.)

Next time I might just rent a car. Fuck it, I've done right-hand-drive before.

[Sundae]

Originally Posted by Sundae

I can't speak for large hotel chains, but pubs and supermarkets only accept chip & pin cards now.
And small independents will not accept cards for purchases under £5 or even under £10 in some places.

Originally Posted by Undertoad

Our American credit cards are no longer guaranteed to work in European systems, because they use the chip-and-PIN system with a smart card that holds your password. I think they must use that system because it doesn't require the vendor to be online in order to process a password-protected transaction. The American "swipe" system was confusing even to the hotel's front desk personnel. (They didn't know the meaning of the term "last 4 digits", which is part of the password protection for our system.)

Told you
Our "password" is the PIN number we use in the cahpoint machine.
It is issued randomly with the card, although it's possible to change it for something more memorable. I always keep the random number and remember it using rhyming visualisation. We use the last three digits of the security code on the signature strip for verification when buying online or over the phone as a way of enusring the card is present. Doesn't mean it's not stolen, but the thief has to know the postcode the card is registered to as well, and if goods are being ordered they will often only ship to that postcode.

Anyway.
Pretty cool to have an upgrade on the way home!
It soulds like it came at just the right time.

Your journey was longer but probably less stressful than mine home from Leeds where once again I had to wait nearly an hour for a bus (which is ridiculous when the sides of said buses trumpet that they run every ten minutes!) Buses from Otley seem to manage it, with one leaving at least every 20 minutes I hate Leeds and will never go there again voluntarily.

And there was an altercation at the back of the bus which ended with a passenger being told to get off. No actual violence, but violent words and the threat hung in the air. Apparently he was swigging from a wine bottle, and another passenger took exception to this
Nice town.