A Foretaste

When I arrived at the station yesterday to take my train to Boxhill & Westhumble, I saw notices around the place about a cycle race that was taking place. The railway was expecting a surge in passenger numbers and was therefore laying on extra carriages and barring travellers from taking their bikes by rail. Expecting to have to fight my way on to the train, I was rather surprised to find that, when it drew in, it was all but empty. However, things were even stranger at the other end. At Boxhill & Westhumble (one of the prettiest stations in Surrey), just three of us stepped down from the train - to find the place swarming with jerkin-clad officials of one kind and another. Some were railway employees, some were 'race stewards', half a dozen or so were police (you never know when it's going to kick off in Westhumble). In all, they must have numbered at least two dozen, and none of them had anything to do. Indeed, the whole area was, if anything, even quieter than it would normally be on a reasonably clement Sunday morning. Meanwhile, however, across much of London and Surrey, chaos reigned. This is what it will be like during next year's Olympics - only far, far worse, and for weeks on end. Call it off now! It's not too late...