When you finally stumble into the office, you are a time traveller from a bad day. Your hair has a life of its own. Your shirt has a crease that looks exactly like the seat of a 205 bus.
Your colleagues greet you with a sympathetic head tilt. “Rough one?” they ask. You don’t even answer. You just hold up a hand and groan. They know. The knowing nod is the secret handshake of the London commuter.
Someone from accounting—who lives a five-minute walk from the office—will say, “Oh, I didn’t even notice the strike!” Do not make eye contact. Do not engage. Just take a deep breath and imagine a world where the Victoria Line works forever.
The Great Escape (and failure)
At the end of the day, you think you have a plan. You’ll walk a bit. Take a different bus. Avoid the crowds. This is a lie you tell yourself. The universe laughs at your plan.
London Tube Strike LIVE - Chaos across Underground network as TFL staff
You will end up at a train station looking at a digital sign that promises a train in “16 minutes”... and then changes to “delayed.” It’s like watching your hopes and dreams get updated in real-time.
You’ll see people on Lime Bikes, pedalling like their life depends on it. They look like cyclists in a zombie movie. You know they smell of victory and regret. I tried one once during a strike. I nearly took out a family of tourists and a bin. Never again.
