Great Western Coffee Shop

In 2005 I drove 30,000 miles a year, and train journeys were rare.  In 2015, I expect to drive just 3,000 miles, and already in 2 months I have made long distance journeys by train to Taunton, Swansea, Cambridge, and London - multiple times - and many local journeys.  I choose to tavel by train because I arrive at my destination fresher, I'm free from the incumberance of a car in city centres and workplace overcrowded car parks, because I'm exercisong as I walk to and from stations, because it's sensibly priced (I have an Old Codger's railcard saving me 34% which assists on this balance, although many off peak and local tickets are not expensive anyway) and because I can work on the train, relax, sleep, even use a mobile phone occasionaly.

I am delighted to hear this morning that First Great Western have completed the fitting of WiFi in all their high speed trains, and it's available free for use too.  Free WiFi is also available at a number of FGW stations throguh the Cloud, most notably at Swindon where I often change trains and wait for my connection home to Melksham.

It came home to me on Saturday last just how useful the free WiFi, which has been gradually appearing over the last few months, has become when I travelled on another Train Operator's service 30 minutes ahead of the FGW alternative, and found myself wishing I had waited, but I have learned over the years that a train in the hand in worth two in the bush.

Local trains / no WiFi - that's fine by me.  For a short hop of less than 40 minutes, I can do without.   Regional services - it would be nice, but the HST / sleeper / Adelante fleets were the natural firsts.

The ability to do my job by public transport rather than driving has been lifechanging, and lifechanging for the better.  I congratulate First Great Western on completing this innovation.  And I congratulate First Great Western, Wiltshire Council, the Department for Transport, political support from MPs and candidates of all parties with major local influence for giving me the opportunity, and to the train crews, platform teams and operatuons managers who make it run, and who are sol welcoming, on a day by day basis.

Press release from First Great Western ...

I too make use of the free WiFi on FGW HSTs - I just wish they would make the login easier.  The 180s' WiFi system allows you to register and then login in on future occasions, with the HSTs you have to enter your details every time.

However, despite that, I have travelled some 100,000 miles by train since 2011 and the ability to work on the move has been invaluable.

..............there speaks a man who is fortunate enough not to have to use peak London/Thames Valley services on a daily basis!

Frankly, if it were installed on the turbos, there wouldn't be enough bandwidth for everyone that uses it. Chiltern already have that problem. It doesn't help that some greedy b*gg*rs not only connect their laptop/tablet, but also their phone too. And occasionally, all three.

Fitment of the FGW Turbo fleet has just commenced I think.

May be handy off peak however the services are so overcrowded in the morning/evening peak it would be virtually impossible to work......balancing a laptop with one arm, clinging on to something solid with the other whilst attempting to remove nose from fellow customer's armpit is not really conducive to productive work!

It'll be interesting to watch the complaints roll in on social media. There are only 254 connections available on any one router, I think

Fortunate - or rather ... by my career and way-of-working choice.  There are times that I *could* commute / sardine, but those weeks I tend to stay in a cheap hotel instead ... for my own office base, I have a 10 minute walk from home.  And, yes, I could earn more in London, I'm sure!

Is this an arguement against speeding trains up? Taken to it's illogical conclusion, wouldn't it boost the economy to have sidings full of stationary (but Wi-Fi-enabled) carriages, where people could work without even needing to leave the station?

Yes, this is a significant case against building HS2, in that time spent on trains should no longer be deemed to be 'unproductive' as it is now possible to treat assorted means of transport as virtual offices, so it is debateable how much 'benefit to business' the ^40bn is actually going to bring. I share the opinion that the money would be better spent investing in the current infrastructure & longer (double decked?), more reliable & better equipped trains with better timetables.

Personally speaking, I find the environment on a train not particularly conducive to work, so this is a 'why I don't travel by train'! The FGW services (S.Wales services) I formerly used were often very busy, not particularly peaceful (noisy headphones, loud conversations, drunk people, standees all over the place at peak times etc) and perhaps most significantly for me lacking the space & confidentiality that an office environment affords, be it at home or client site. This and also the ever increasing cost has conspired to make me choose driving over rail (I'm currently about mid-way between young persons & senior railcards!). Virgin Trains on WCML I found to be a somewhat better environment in which to do some work for some reason, just a bit more peaceful overall in first class.

I travel by train because I enjoy it. I last had a motor vehicle some seven years ago. I found that I was always getting frustrated in town traffic, a couple of times I unexpectedly met up with friends and had a few drinks then having to go back to get the car the next day, once my car got locked for the night in a Weymouth car park where overnight parking was not allowed and it cost me ^17 to get it out the next morning. Since not having a car I have enjoyed not paying out ^50 odd to fill her up, I can get a train or bus right to the centre of a town or city without worrying about finding parking and I also feel marginally more environmentally friendly. It has annoyed me somewhat that the fuel duty stabilizer or whatever it is called has not done much to stabilize the fuel price, in that, when oil was very expensive the duty did not escalate as planned, but when the oil price fell the government missed the opportunity to ramp up the duty and claw some money back which could have been used to avoid the above inflation rises in public transport fares, and also avoid the continual cuts in the bus services.
I feel that I am saving quite a lot of money. Fortunately, although my family is pretty well spread out, the stations I travel to visit them, Maiden Newton, Dorchester West, Axminster, Great Malvern, Bristol and Trowbridge are all covered by the Freedom of Severn and Solent Rover, so since I got my railcard the 8 days in 15 ticket suits me just fine at a cost of under ^6 per day, probably less than I would pay for parking in some towns.
I do try to get some work done during the journey sometime, but find pencil and notebook more efficient that trying to use a laptop, this may not appeal to many, but it suits me just fine!

It seems choice v necessity is quite relevant to this discussion......for those of us who need to use the train to get to work, enduring the high fares, overcrowded conditions and frequent delays are a means to an end, for others in less of a "hurry" and an inherent enjoyment of rail travel the journey can be an end in itself?

Absolutely. I have two friends one who "has" to commute into London everyday and spends hundreds on a monthly season and another who has a senior railcard, takes advantage of off-peak fares and travels for leisure. Their views of the rail industry are polar opposites.

When I was working, my employer had offices in Exeter, Salisbury and Dorking and on many occasions I took the opportunity of working on the laptop when travelling between offices - usually 'locally' as no Wifi available on SWT then and mobile signal non-existent for much of the route. I would like to think I was productive most of the time.

However, I have had two journeys between Waterloo and Exeter which I would consider as 'journeys from hell' because of other's work. On one occasion I was returning from a stateside holiday having flown red-eye and just wanted to sleep. I was in first class, but the foursome around the table opposite insisted upon holding a very loud business meeting using ipads and laptops. A few weeks later, I was on the same train, but this time with my family. We opted to sit around a table (three of us) in first class, but we hadn't even left Waterloo when the same group of four that I'd encountered previously (I remember them well!) insisted we move as they needed a table for their meeting and were quite adamant that their first class tickets entitled them to sit at that particular table (even though seat reservations cannot be made on that service). Thankfully, my good lady wife can be quite feisty and stood her ground,  but it was not a pleasant experience.

Yes, agreed completely - it'll always be hard to win over someone who 'has' to do something against someone who chooses to.  Very much the same with my bus commute into work, which is through fairly pleasant countryside until we get into the city and quite pleasant outside of the rush hour.  Totally different when I 'have' to do it in rush hour the bus is usually either packed and/or delayed and it's often pretty miserable - though I have to say the free Wifi recently installed on the bus makes it less of a grind and that's not because I'm working but because it gives me a chance to easily check up on things such as social media and this forum.  Hopefully FGW Turbo passengers will find the same benefits even when they are squeezed in.

Well done to FGW for not just fitting out their premier trains.  Hopefully the 158 fleet will be next?

On a busy service a couple of weeks ago it took from Reading to just outside Exeter just to load one text only email.

It uses 3g and 4g mobile signal, so is reliant on a mobile network. It uses any of the current UK networks.

It doesn't work through most of Cornwall, where most areas don't have 3g yet.

Why I travel by train .........  ??? it has been an occupational hazard since 1975  ;D (no I don't drive trains or a member of the on board staff"

If I have the choice I travel by train but this has nothing to do with productivity .

I spent 2 years on site which involved a daily commute from Thatcham to Reigate. It was too close to stay overnight (in my opinion) so I had a choice of driving or catching the train.

In my opinion it was a simple choice especially as the Reigate office was 5 minutes walk from the station. If I wanted a sleep or check posts on the coffee shop forum I could without endangering myself or other travellers. I found that (with few exceptions) I would arrive at my journeys end relatively refreshed

Although my Reigate days are behind me I still choose to travel by train for exactly the same reason.

On the whole I actually enjoy train travel, despite the vagaries that FGW/NR and sometimes circumstances beyond their control throw at us.

Luckily I consider myself quite a patient, laid-back person, so as long as there are not going to be major implications, I don't mind the odd delay.

Although I am not a rail commuter, I count my rail usage for work (around 50 times into London from Thatcham in the last year) frequent enough to form an opinion and to observe the work going on to "build the greater West" (and Crossrail).

Of those 50 journeys, I would say I have probably suffered meaningful delays on less than 10%. I don't think that's too bad. The worst ones that I can recall were when someone working trackside cut through a cable (not FGW's fault) and when someone decided to end their life in the way we are sadly all too familiar with.

The train does mean a bit of work is (sometimes) possible, even if that just means keeping up with the non-stop email, or that I can just relax and look out of the window.

As I said, I quite enjoy train travel. I usually visit West Cornwall at least once a year, and will always find an excuse to park at St. Erth or Lelant Saltings and take the branch to St. Ives, I love it. In a few months I am taking a "birthday treat" trip on the "Belmond Northern Belle" - looking forward to that aswell.

And enjoy it you should! My company treated me and the wife to a Valentine's Day trip on the British Pullman 'around the Surrey Hills' as a 30-year long service gift........... 5 courses and champagne with every course  :)  Well recommended as a gift, but otherwise a second mortgage might be required!

I regard myself as being of a similar nature TC, maybe it's living in Thatcham that does it!

When I was doing my daily commute to Reigate it was hard work in the "leaf fall" season but give the nature of the North Downs Line I guess it is hardly surprising it gets hit badly.

My travel is purely for leisure except for a very occasional trip to Bristol for a meeting.  I use advance fares wherever possible and FGW have lost revenue from me since the reduction in first class accommodation and the consequent/subsequent increase in first class advance fares.  I consider that a 200% premium for a cup of tea and a biscuit excessive.  Most trips to London (from Trowbridge) are now by SWT.  My journey to Stevenage this weekend uses FGW but in standard as the first advance is three times the price.  At least I have a trip to Buxton in premier class with UK Railtours as a consolation (full english, light lunch and 4 course dinner and less than half the price of the English Pullman)

I wrote earlier about my experiences of working on the train. I was made redundant and took early retirement a few years ago, so my rail travel these days is almost exclusively for leisure. Although I do not yet qualify for a Senior Railcard, my wife and I have a Two Together and my daughter unfortunately qualifies for a Disabled Persons Railcard, so we will almost always travel together and make use of Advance fares. I personally love travelling by train and will use trains in preference to the car whenever possible.

Like rogerw above, if we travel to London it will always be SWT from Pinhoe in first class (best advance fare available ^14 per person each way against ^60 per person each way from Exeter St Davids with FGW). The time taken is more than compensated by the fare differential). The one exception to this is the Easter weekend, when we will travel just for the sake of experiencing the different routings caused by the Reading blockade.

Common misconception this. Let me try and explain it a little. Each host on a network gets it's own unique IP Address for that device. A little like how your house in a street has a door number. Much the same concept.

It depends on how the router is configured. Lets assume the router is using a 192.168.1.x / 255.255.255.0 Subnet Mask. This is commonly known as a Class C or /24 Subnet. This is standard configuration for nearly all domestic and small business networks. This allows for 254 hosts on the same network. Of which 1 host is the Default Gateway / The Router Itself. Depending on the configuration on the router side that would allow 253 client hosts on the same network.

However you can configure most routers to use Class B and Class A Subnets also.

It's rather technical but I will try and explain it in the best way I can.

| Subnet Class |	| Private IP Space Format |	| Number of Usable Hosts |	| Subnet /XX Format |	| Full Subnet Mask |
| Class C |	| 192.168.1.x	| 254	| /24	| 255.255.255.0
| Class B |	| 172.16.x.x	| 65,534	| /16	| 255.255.0.0
| Class A |	| 10.x.x.x	| 16,777,214	| /8	| 255.0.0.0

Each network subnet has 2 Reserved IP Addresses for Broadcast and Subnet ID. These I will call reserved IP Addresses as they cannot be used for hosts on the network. These IP Addresses are always the FIRST and LAST IP Addresses in the subnet network.

So if you look at a Class C Subnet which is used on the majority of BTHomeHubs, Virgin SuperHubs etc. The "192.168.1." part ALWAYS remains the same. The part after the last . can be any number from 1 - 254 inclusive. As 192.168.1.0 and 192.168.1.255 are our reserved IP Addresses these cannot be used. So you select IP 192.168.1.1 for your router. A host could have any IP from 192.168.1.2 - 192.168.1.254

NO HOST can share the same IP Address

A Class B subnet the "172.16." parts remain the same. So the part after the second . can both be selected at random with the exception of IP address 172.16.0.0 and 172.16.255.255 as these are the reserved addresses. So lets put our router on 172.16.0.1 This leaves us with another 65,533 addresses to choose from. So we could have 172.16.43.125 and 172.16.150.234 allocated to 2 seperate hosts.

As with Class C Subnets. A host cannot share the same IP address as another host.

Finally Class A Subnets. These are "10.x.x.x" so the first part "10." remains the same. That allows use to chose any number from 0 - 255 for the subsequent parts of the IP Address. So the reserved IP Address are 10.0.0.0 and 10.255.255.255 so these cannot be used. Our router goes to 10.0.0.1 that leaves the remaining 16,777,213 IP Addresses for our client hosts.

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Lets assume you want to run 2 seperate networks on the same infrastructure. A host on say 192.168.150.x network wanted to communicate with a host on 192.168.125.x network. As these are 2 different subnets. You would need a device called a Router or Bridge. That would allow these 2 seperate networks to communicate with each other. This would allow you in theory to have a network of 506 hosts that could all communicate with each other. On 2 seperate 254 host networks. That is what your router in essence does. Allows your computer to find a path to the Public IP Address Space for the likes of Google etc.

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So lets look at it in this way. I want to get from my computer in an Internet Cafe to Google.

Location	IP Address
My Laptop	192.168.1.73
Cafe Router	192.168.1.1
Google	173.194.112.95

My Computer asks the Router if I can have a path to Google. The Router searches it's networks and finds another router that has the ability to go to Google. Eventually after Several Routers route me across the network. I arrive at my destination of 173.194.112.95

(http://i.imgur.com/oTgGEba.png)

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Explanation over. Hope you can have some understanding of it. Please do PM me for clarification and I will do my best to explain it rather than clutter this thread. Once I have made my explanations I will make a seperate post accordingly :)

I haven't checked the FGW systems - which class are they?   Are you saying the class C limit is 253 not 254 hosts, or suggesting that FGW are using 10. or 176.??

My understanding is that class c leaves 254 addresses - .0 being the network address and .255 being the broadcast address BUT as TT says the router needs an address which limits it to 253 available

FGW WiFi uses 192.168.101.x and I believe a 24 Bit Subnet. However I am speculating that each carriage has a separate connection as carriages get swapped in and out of sets all the time. I might fire up BackTrack when I'm next on the train and have a closer look at the signals around me.

But my suspicions were raised when I was right under the antenna in Coach K and was getting a 2 Bar WiFi Signal - Suggesting the next carriage was the source of signal. Indeed my mobile phone strongly suggested this was the case as when I went to use the bathroom in Coach L, the signal was much stronger.

I do recommend the FGW WiFi actually - it is easily the best on train WiFi I've seen for quite some time. East Midlands Trains was also reasonably good. Virgin and CrossCountry WiFi is awful even in 4G Areas I pull down less than 1MB/s

VMware vSphere Client works extremely well over FGW WiFi...

The total irony is that Grooveshark does NOT work over their WiFi for streaming music... Yet YouTube does... :-[ :-X :-\

I hope you'll understand that, as it's a "treat", I'm not in possession of the full facts around the cost of my forthcoming trip to the Lake District on the Northern Belle, but I do know that a surprisingly small amount of Nectar points converted into 25% off  :)

Tc, I am extremely envious of your forthcoming trip and hope you may create a TR (trip report).

Enjoy

For the first time in my life I actually caught a train to and from Maidenhead station one day this week. Whilst waiting for my train back I was standing on the platform in the sunshine and I thought it would be so nice to get on a train a go exploring on lines that I have never travelled on before armed with my trusty DSLR

Maybe on day :)

They already are, such as - impossible to get connected, when I do it's so slow it's useless etc etc....

I do this quite often but I'm lucky to live away from the rush of London, where there is always seats and a lot more relaxed travel.

I could be persuaded to do so, I'm sure  :) Really looking forward to it, I have to say.

Not sure where you've been by train, but whilst it will be bread and butter to many on this forum, the ride from Exeter to Plymouth is really worth doing if you never have. You're next to the sea at Dawlish one minute, then climbing the Devon banks to skirt Dartmoor the next.

I had the "pleasure" of giving up a days Cornish holiday to come back up to newbury for a meeting and I did the journey up from Cornwall and back by train. It is a stunning journey and I totally agree with you TC. There are some other journeys I would like to do at leasure and they include

1) Cardiff to ebbw vale (I don't think you can do it from Newport yet)
2) servern beach line
3) some of the spurs from the GWML including windsor , Henley and Marlow
4) the oxenholm line in the lakes

And that's just for starters :)

I believe the "Northern Belle" is going to take us as far as Oxenholme, and we will proceed from there for a cruise on Lake Windermere by road. There is a branch line from Oxenholme to Windermere, but it's single track AFAIK and I'm assuming that sending a charter down it would cause issues for regular services.

It's a pity that I don't believe we will go further north, as the line from Oxenholme to Penrith (through Tebay and Shap, paralleling the M6 for much of the way) is also a great trip.

Windermere station is a bit limited, according to Wikipedia ...

Yes, it is (IMHO) I've done that on a Pendelino once - thankfully one of the journeys was in the daylight and very memorable

Mentioning all of these scenic routes reminds me of the one thing I miss the most on scenic rail journeys ............ the rush to the front seat behind the drivers cab of a 'proper' DMU in the hope that the driver has not pulled the blind down so that you can enjoy an unhindered view of the landscape!  It is alright for those of you who actually get to drive the 'modern' stuff, but us mere passengers can't even pull the slam-door window down, let alone stare out through the cab these days  :(

Only the DLR (that I know of) affords the opportunity to sit at the front and get the "driver's eye view" these days (except that most of the time there isn't a driver!).

At times it seems to me a bit like a slow rollercoaster - descending west-bound from overground to underground on the way into Bank being a good example.

I had so forgotten about this! I seem to remember when I used to travel from Banbury to Oxford on DMUs in the 1970s I used to try and do this. I can't remember what class of DMU it was though.

I think some of the German ICE trains have this feature, but less sure if they're used on any particularly scenic routes.

I've thought of that in the past for a new 'scenic sprinter' DMU design. The driver would unlock the desk (which I assume has the controls under it) at whichever end was leading, allowing passengers to look out of the back of the train but the driver would have one of the front seats. In these days of riot screens protecting bus drivers and unruly passengers it sadly would likely not be permited, the few unruly ones ruin it for the rest of us. The driving vehicles could look like a Devon Belle Observation Car (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Devon_Belle_at_Kingswear_Station.jpg).

It seems this is a good thread on which to say hello to everyone who's already here, so that's how I'll use it. Hello!

Now, why do I travel by train? I've always enjoyed train travel. I think in large part this goes back to when I was a child and train was always our transport for going on holiday - so just turning up at the station meant fun and excitement! At the same time though, trains were something ordinary - we lived by the railway line (not the station!) so seeing passing trains, of all sorts, was a normal event. I could never understand the attraction of train spotting. Beyond that, there are practical reasons. Train travel is usually relatively fast and stress-free, as well as comfortable for various distances.

And what journeys do I typically make by train? From Bristol (Temple Meads or Parkway, sometimes one is more convenient, sometimes the other) to Didcot or Reading, occasionally London; Bristol to Gloucester, Ashchurch or Malvern; to Chepstow and Cardiff; as well as occasional Severn Beach line trips. Oh, and in a couple of weeks I'll be travelling from Pewsey via Westbury, but that's very much a one-off!

A very warm welcome to the forum Bmblbzzz! ;D

Hopefully you don't have a sting in the tail and maybe I'll bump into you sometime at Temple Meads. If you see a portly bloke with a big nose and a grey flat cap it's probably me.  ;)

If you see him - don't claim your five pounds, get him to buy you a pint in Bonapartes.  ;D

Welcome indeed. I have a feeling that if you're an experienced train travel in your youth, you'll be a natural rail user for life - rather like riding a bicycle, and even if you have a big gap.   It was fun, exciting, almost a game for me in my youth - commuting to school and then to university for 13 years by train, dealing with the delays we had in those days by working a 'game plan' - though it's far less fun just at present in some areas like the Thames Valley and I'm very glad I don't have to face the journey from Paddington multiple times per week.

You have a wide variety of journeys there, Bmblbzzz - are you travelling most days, or just a few times a month?

I haven't been in there for a while, but even with a bitecard, five pounds for a pint in Bonapartes seems to be unfortunately rather too likely.  :o

Better to nip out of the station to the Wetherspoons in Temple Quay - similar / even better beer is much cheaper there!  ;) :D ;D

...and I can use my 50p CAMRA vouchers in the Wetherspoons.

I'm half Scot.  You'll have to prise that fiver or cost of a pint from my cold dead hands.  :P ;) ;D

..........where is this Wetherspoons that serves good beer? In my experience a lot of their cask ale is so far past its best that you could pour it on your chips! (I know they keep their prices down by buying stock that's close to its use by date).

I must admit I have had the occasional pint in a Wetherspoons that, by taste, was past its best.  However on the majority of occasions I have been served a decent pint and often in a handle glass too.

Welcome to the Forum, Bmblbzzz, and congratulations on having the longest user name without a vowel!  Tht's gt t B th rcrd?!

Wetherspoons?  Boycotted since they refused to let me take the dog even in the beer (if you can call it that) garden.

The quality of ale in Wetherspoons can vary from fantastic to off. Generally, I've found it OK. I'm looking for a foamy head, that clings to the side of the glass as you drink it. I do not want to get a whiff of Sarsons.

They normally exchange problem pints without question I've found.

Their breakfasts I've found are very reasonable for the price.

However, I've got a bit of a love/hate relationship with them. IMO they price what they can get away with whilst still undercutting what's left of the local competition in smaller towns. I like the Wetherspoons decor, homengenous as it tends to be, but I also want to see smaller independent pubs thrive.

I like the dimpled handled glasses a lot. I find generally you have to ask for them.

It's not just ascetics either, it stops your hand from warming the drink!

Tsk, that old spellchecker... Actually that's rather a good one!

     Ascetic n

     A person who renounces material comforts and leads a life of austere self-discipline, especially as an act of religious devotion.

Seems appropriate for a Wetherspoons.



(I suspect you wrote 'aesthetics')

I find them soulless, characterless warehouses selling mediocre beer - they (along with Pubcos) are destroying the traditional independent pub - once they're gone, they're gone forever.....it is good to see some community run pubs finding success though, especially when they promote micro/local breweries (if you happen to find yourself in Plymouth, try the Bread and Roses in Ebrington Street and you will see what I mean)

The Union Rooms in Plymouth (a Wetherspoons) serves a decent pint.

If the chain is so bad I wonder why CAMRA support and promote them?

Obviously it's just my opinion.

However there's no doubt that the beer discount warehouses of JDW are contributing to the demise of the "proper" pub - same principle as supermarkets knocking out traditional shops - simple economics.

Union Rooms isn't too bad and it works for the area and its customer base but I wouldn't recommend risking the ale in the Mannamead on Mutley Plain (another one of theirs) - last time they had Abbott on and it would have needed a spoon to drink it - the Gog Magog on the Barbican is useful if you need vinegar for your chips too - try (or rather don't) the Greene King on a Saturday night (if you can get served!)

Wetherspoons have 880 locations out of an estate of around 930 that have attained 'Cask Marque' (http://cask-marque.co.uk/) accreditation.

The "proper" pub, whatever that means, is more likely to be in demise because of the practises of pubcos like Punch Taverns and Enterprise Inns. And supermarkets are also partly to blame with their aggressive pricing for off sales of alcohol.

Solely blaming Wetherspoons for the demise of "proper" pubs is wide of the mark.

Mannamead in Mutley is 'Cask Marque' accredited and has a Food Hygiene Rating of 5. 

BNM if you read my earlier post you will see that I am not solely blaming JDW - if you want to see a proper pub in Plymouth I'd be happy to take you on a tour next time I'm in town!  ;)

I'm happy with the nearest Wetherspoon's thanks.  ;)

With respect, TaplowGreen, that is an urban myth. J D Wetherspoon use their rather large corporate buying power to obtain wholesale quantities of fresh beers - and they then choose to sell them at retail prices in local pubs at whatever figure is competitive in the area.

I have enjoyed many a pint of such real ales in the Wetherspoons in Nailsea - they are very much more likely to be 'young and frothy' than 'old and sour'.  ;)

That was the one I was after ;)

The spellchecker obviously considered my first stab as too wide of the mark!

...........if that is the case Chris I must admit my error, swallow my (London) Pride and will try not to be bitter!  :)

No, I just stop to smell the flowers and make sweet goodness!  :)
Or, as they say, something...

Oh, and as for Wetherspoons; they're good for what they are, but they are not a traditional pub. In fact they're superior IMO in certain aspects - could you go into a traditional pub at 10 in the morning for a coffee? - and they do serve good beer (I'm not sure whether they serve it at 10 a.m.!) but are not the place to go if you want a pub atmosphere.

JDW's come in many shapes and sizes, and I think they're quite good at what they do.

I've been in one in Ayr in Scotland which was in a converted church - you could drink beer from the pulpit!

"The Monk's Retreat" in Reading's "nightlife" area is always heaving in my experience and has always had a good atmosphere when I've been in.

Their business model does seem to have changed a bit over the years - originally they were a "no music" environment (I think
this was to save on the licencing costs) - whereas one of the 2 JDW's in Newbury, "The Diamond Tap" pretty much becomes a nightclub
on a Friday and Saturday night.

Wetherspoons in Bridport serve alcohol from 8 a.m.

Ouch! Never realised Bridport was such a rock n roll town! I would say 0800 drinking is OK if still going from the night before, otherwise however I think I'll wait until the sun is over the Yardarm at least!  :-[

On the other hand, for night shift workers, the opportunity to have a well-earned beer at the end of their shift at 8:00am is probably quite welcome!  ;) :D ;D

I think they all do.   My local does.
There is an exception in Scotland where for some reason they can't sell alcohol until 12 30 on a Sunday. 

My very good friend (still) who also happens to be my ex sent me a text from Wetherspoons Bridport a couple of years ago at 0715 to say she was enjoying a nice pint of cider with a mutual friend. When I spent a couple of days with her for her 50th in Bath in February just gone I asked her if Spoons still opened at 7, and she gave me the bad news that it doesn't open till 8 now.

No a lot of them keep to their 9 a.m. rule, even if they open at 8 (Trowbridge for certain)

Good point! (although I always just wanted to flop into bed!) - I remember the pubs around Smithfield and Billingsgate had special licences to allow this, and The Dolphin in Plymouth (one of the finest pubs on Earth!) often had fishermen enjoying a pint early in the morning!

Back to travelling by train, there was chap (impression middle aged) in a discussion on BBC2 Jeremy Vine Show who said he had never been on a train in his life.    Lives at Oakhill in Somerset.

!