Travel over Christmas

[317 forever]

I certainly don't want to work on 25th or 26th December although I know and appreciate that some have to.

Conversely, I so want to live down Christmas that I volunteered and arranged to work on 25th and the Bank Holiday 28th. In recent years I have got used to semi-divorcing Boxing Day from Christmas, and so requested that 26th is one of my days off, which fortunately it is.

 

[Jamiescott1]

I will be commuting into work in London tomorrow from Buckinghamshire (tier 4 into tier 4).
My train originates in Birmingham and my stop is the first stop in tier 4 so technically should the train now be empty when I get on it?

 

[221129]

so technically should the train now be empty when I get on it?

No...

 

[E16 Cyclist]

You were saying?!

What's the arrangement with pre-booked tickets now that travel over Christmas is no longer advised / no longer permitted?

I would say i also predict lottery numbers but sadly this was obvious and made worse by our person in authority telling people what he thought they wanted to hear until it was almost too late

Presumably it’ll be the same as trips cancelled during lockdown 1 and 2

 

[Mojo]

I wouldn’t say the latter point is necessarily true. Certainly at my place there’s plenty of people from ethnic or religious backgrounds which don’t celebrate Christmas but who still look forward to the time off.

Absolutely. In fact I wouldn’t hesitate to say that if there wasn’t handsome remuneration that the people that have volunteered to be on shift over the festive period wouldn’t be, regardless of their religion. Funnily enough I have a colleague who is the opposite of that suggested; in fact he’s the only person that I know personally that regularly attends (Christian) church, and he works every year Christmas day without fail, he says because he is a single person who lives alone and doesn’t have any commitments.

Christmas might have its roots in religion, but now a days (in normal circumstances) by a not insignificant proportion of the population this is considered a national holiday; a time for seeing friends and family, for having parties and exchanging gifts, the religious connotation is barely considered.

 

[alxndr]

Absolutely. In fact I wouldn’t hesitate to say that if there wasn’t handsome remuneration that the people that have volunteered to be on shift over the festive period wouldn’t be, regardless of their religion. Funnily enough I have a colleague who is the opposite of that suggested; in fact he’s the only person that I know personally that regularly attends (Christian) church, and he works every year Christmas day without fail, he says because he is a single person who lives alone and doesn’t have any commitments.

I'm not religious but I partly volunteer to work Christmas for similar reasons (single, no family worth visiting especially for a day trip), and also because I loathe Christmas for various reasons. The last two years I've not been required and my "celebration" has been going for a walk as far away from people as possible to avoid the thing and then eating pizza.

I am working into Christmas day and Boxing day this year, the extra money is a nice freebie and I'll not turn it down if offered, but I'm very much not in it for the money.

 

[trainophile]

I wonder if the breathalyser squad will be busy on Christmas Day evening, given that people who are obeying the rules can't stay overnight with their family, and it will take a lot of willpower to resist the "go one, just one won't hurt" all day.

 

[Jamiescott1]

Chiltern has 48 services cancelled today due to lack of availability of train crew.