Tickets Please!

It's Sunday again and here I'm back....I'm actually very impressed with myself in keeping my blog updated!

As usual I caught the train to Canterbury. This morning I caught the 10.22 Southeastern High Speed service from Ashford International, which actually departed at 10.21....now I know that they call it the high speed service, but leaving ahead of time, surely that will destroy the railway's reputation!!

Nothing exciting happened on the journey to Canterbury (can't say the same about the journey home, but more on that later).

On arrival at church this morning the usual faces were all there, but there were two extras that I had not seen before. One was Gillian, who I had heard about, but until today, had not met. Due to ill health, etc she has been unable to attend church as often as she would like, but thankfully today she was able to attend, together with her carer, Maggie, who was the second new face.

Today is Septuagesima Sunday, which is the start of the pre-Lent period in the church. Apparantly everything becomes a bit more sombre, and the word "Alleluia" is now not heard in worship until Easter Day.

I suppose that this period can be seen as a time of quiet reflection and preparation of things to come.

The Bishop's sermon today highlighted the importance of preparation, and how that in order to win the ultimate prize (eternal life) we must take part in the race and finish the course. Everyone who takes part will win, no matter if you cross that finish line first, 14th or last....the important thing is to take part and finish. It does not matter even if you start late....just make sure you follow the course and finish.

Translated into Christian life this means that it is never too late to find God and to commit to life as a Christian. It will of course take some preparation and maybe a few lifestyle changes, just as a marathon runner must prepare for the testing time ahead of him or her. It may not be an easy path at all times, but with preparation and commitment then the finish can be reached. For a Christian the finish is a place in heaven with the Lord....this is the end of the ultimate marathon, the race that has taken a lifetime to achieve!

I will be starting my oiwn preparation soon. On Sunday 21st February 2010 (the first Sunday in Lent) the Bishop is starting a short course of Membership/Confirmation classes. These are designed to prepare me for my own confirmation which should take place on Easter Sunday. Therefore Easter Sunday in future will have extra importance to me. Not only will it be the day that Jesus rose again, but it will also be the day that I took a huge step in my commitment as a Christian!

After the usual tea, coffee and biscuits we parted company for the day and I headed back to catch the train home.

On the train the conductor came alomg checking tickets and he approached a male passenger who presented him with an out of date ticket. Now I have to say that I have an interest in this area as I spent 5 years working as a Revenue Protection Inspector for Transport for London, so I am an authority on fare evasion....not that I commit it I better add!

Being nosey I was listening in to the conversation and it turned out that the ticket expired yesterday, 30th January. The passenger claimed that he purchased the ticket this morning at Bromley South station, paying for it with his debit card. The conductor pointed out that the ticket was actually purchased at 22.30 yesterday evening, the male was having none of it and was becoming rather irrate and defensive. The passenger was insisting that the ticket machine must have incorrectly issued the ticket. Now this claim really doesn't hold much water as it would be one mistake to issue a backdated ticket, but to issue a backdated ticket with also the wrong purchase time on it, this seems a little farfetched!

The conductor was giving the man a chance to buy the correct ticket, pointing out that if a revenue officer found this irregularity later then he would either impose a penalty fare or possible even issue a prosecution against the man. The man was having none of it, instead saying that he would go to court. This I really couldn't understand, as the evidence spoke for itself, and having been the instigator of many such cases before I could see that in the eyes of a magistrate this would be a 'bang to rights case'. It made be realise how much dishonesty there is in this world, even down to a man (who appeared well presented and of means) to be trying to defraud the railway of £12.95.

I get the impression that he travelled to Canterbury yesterday evening on a cheap day return and was returning today after having spent the night in Canterbury. He should have purchased an open return which would have cost a little more. Why he decided to say that he purchased the ticket this morning is beyond me, even insisting upon it when it was clearly evidenced to him that this was not the case. He should have just been honest and said that he purchased the wrong ticket last night. This way the conductor may have been able to sort something out. Or he should have just swallowed his pride and purchased a new ticket at £12.95, instead he will have gone on to have been caught and will be guaranteed to have received at least a penalty fare of £20, or maybe a court appearance, conviction, criminal record and fine! The moral of the story being honesty is the best policy!

So that is the story of the excitment on the journey home, it was nearly as good as watching an episode of Eastenders or Emmerdale on television. I'm starting to feel like a bit of a journalist, because as I was watching the story unfoild I was thinking "this is going on my blog".

So until next time just think about what you might say next time that you hear the words "tickets please".