Then reality hit, and I had to travel from Kettering to London St Pancras fairly regularly for work; after one particularly awful train journey I decided to quit my job.
I had to stand all the way, in a crowded carriage, opposite the loo, with another person actually standing in the loo doorway, having to disappear into it whenever passengers got on or off. It was hot, uncomfortable, potentially unsafe, and I thought to myself 'enough is enough'.
Very occasionally I think 'wouldn't it be nice to see a West End show?', then something happens which reminds me why I don't go.
My daughter is studying English Lit at University. They had a trip to London to see a play at the Sam Wanamaker theatre, part of Shakespeare's Globe. The Uni sorted the play tickets, they just had to organise their own train travel.
She tried to book online but it wouldn't work, so went to the station where fortunately they still had a ticket office with a human. The problem was she was travelling on a Sunday, and there was a rail replacement bus, but they sorted it out.
The plan was to meet at the theatre for noon, curtain up was 1pm. She set off at 8.30am to make sure she was there in plenty of time.
The first bus was full, so she got the next one. The train they were meant to catch was delayed, then cancelled without warning. Fortunately, a group of Arsenal supporters travelling to the capital helped her and her friends find another train, but that one was going into a different central London station.
This then got stuck behind a slow-moving train. They eventually arrived, got an overland to Blackfriars, and literally ran to the theatre, which they reached at 12.50pm.
What should have been a relatively stress-free hour's train trip to London took nearly four and a half hours and multiple changes. Which is why I will continue to go to our excellent local theatres if I want to see a show!