West Midland Trains - options are:
1, provide all my personal details (full name, postcode??, email address) to use WiFi, or
2, rely on mobile signal (which is pretty poor in Shropshire hills).

Why do you need all this information??? I've paid for a ticket, why can't I just connect??

No coffee or toilet at Gobowen so choice between waiting here in the cold for an hour and hoping the 1601 actually makes it to Birmingham, or jumping on next train to Shrewsbury and hoping I can pick a connection up there... this whole journey completely sucks!

Train I am on that was a straight through from Wrexham to Birmingham got to Shrewsbury where, for some inexplicable reason, it is now going BACK to Holyhead. There may have been an announcement but, like most people these days, I had airpods in. No notification over any app... (cont)

This was one of the worst Marburg outbreaks in history but it could have been so much worse without excellent health protection and epidemiology work in Rwanda. Great news for Christmas!

www.afro.who.int/countries/rw...

Working plug socket, table to myself, and seat facing direction of travel. Living the dream!

But toilets locked...

Phew - other train late so time to get a coffee top-up at least!

Train running 3 mins late 3 stops into our 55min journey. I've got 11mins to change trains in Wrexham (now 8 mins). I've never been to the station before so no idea where I need to go. Going to spend next 25mins being anxious about making next train now to avoid a 1hr wait for next one...

WiFi on train doesn't work so rinsing my 5G (when i have signal). No coffee vendor but did bring own coffee thankfully after having previously been stuck on a TfW 4hr service without a service trolley. Still, it's clean-ish, on time, and got a seat. Think that's about the best I can wish for!

Upton train station. One of the least used stations in UK. I can see why. No office or ticket machine, completely isolated, no visibility of platform from road. CCTV apparently but I can't see any cameras. Feels very unsafe. Sole other passenger waiting which feels worse than being completely alone.

And we are off. Raining. Will have to get bus to station. Bus late. No space to wait on pavement (overgrown hedge), no shelter, £2 for 5 min journey (as all journeys are £2 which is great if travelling from Southport to West Kirby but ridiculous if going a mile...)

As a newly disabled person (diagnosis of epilepsy after 17 years seizure free), I've had to give up my car recently. Fair enough. So, I'm travelling to see friend in Birmingham on train from Merseyside for first time in years.

Thought on initial research via Google:

Remember basic infection control advice folks: Catch it, bin it, kill it. And even more importantly, if you or your child is unwell, please be considerate and stay away from others!

Sunday morning pre-EPRR exercise #Lego treat!