London!

So I went to London and watched a play. I don't do theatre reviews - they tend to wander off into a discussion of confectionary I bought. So this will be a review of the places where I bought or intended to buy food and drink interspersed with what I thought of Henry V at Shakespeare's Globe.

Train from Grantham to King's Cross. No trolley service. I was in the quiet coach which was as far away from the buffet car as you can get. Food and drink rating: N/a. The wireless service was fine, for 15 minutes. £4.95 for an extra hour seems awfully steep though. Still, after the free 15 minutes ran out the splash screen was still showing the speed of the train and a Google map of its exact location. Wifi rating: 3/10

Starbucks opposite the Globe. Coffee was nice, but boy was everything overpriced! Food and drink rating: 6/10. The wifi was everything you'd hope for though. A splash screen with a simple button to click then it's allons-y! Absolutely faultless. Wifi rating 10/10

Inside the Globe. I didn't actually buy any food in there, but as far as places to drink bottled water goes then 6 feet from the stage is pretty special. I think I enjoyed my sandwich more than Pistol "enjoyed" his leek. I also got myself totally drawn into Henry's speech and ended up chanting along to Harry, England and Saint George. The cast looked like they were having fun, they all had that glint in their eyes saying that this is good stuff, we love this and you will too. The whole three hours is the best live experience I've had, and it's easy the best five pounds anyone can spend. If anybody thinks Shakespeare is dry and boring, then you simply haven't watched the right performance. Go to the Globe. You will have fun. My only regret is not having gone years ago. Play rating: immeasurably good

St Pancras station. Not my station, but where I said goodbye to my brother who was also on his first Globe trip. Offering wifi to passengers is all well and good, but twitter and Facebook was blocked! What's the point of that? The single most important thing to do when arriving at a station is to check out where you are meeting up. Social networking is perfect for that. Annoying. Wifi rating: 2/10

Pret a Manger near King's Cross. Food rating: no idea. I didn't go in there but was using their wifi anyway. The wifi was via BT so it worked, but the hoop of having to log in was there. Wifi rating: 9/10

Train from King's Cross to Grantham. A quiet coach with just two people in it, fantastic for relaxing but also makes you realise why train travel is so expensive. This time there was a trolley service but I wasn't hungry and still had a huge bottle of water. Food and drink rating: N/A again. Wifi identical to the trip down.

I made an offhand comment about it being easier to get on the right train in Sleaford than it is in King's Cross. There are three platforms, one for trains going east or south, the other two over the bridge for trains going west or north. The right train to get on at Sleaford is therefore any of them as they all go away from the town. Just don't detain at Boston...