01707

As it is the build up to Christmas i have been out drinking quite a lot recently. Last night i saw some University friends. I stayed out late and just made the last northern line tube. It was going to the wrong side of the Northern line but it was getting me closer to home and i could get a bus across and up from Golders Green. The first part of the plan worked flawlessly. I arrived at Golders Green and waited for a bus. It was at this point my plan started to go wrong. I got on a bus, where the warm air, the gentle rocking motion, the low hum of the engine and the fact i was more than somewhat drunk meant i was soon asleep. The next thing i knew i was made to get off the bus at a bus depot. I stumbled off the bus and tried to get my bearings. I didn't recognise the area and was concerned to see the area code for the shops nearby was 01707. (The area codes for London are 0208 and 0207.) I was no longer in London, which couldn't be a good thing. I was drunk enough that the bus system was far too confusing to use to get back but was able to call my flat mate up and give him the name of the angling shop i was standing next to and the telephone number. From this he found out i was in Potters Bar (??) and was able to call me a cab and get me home safe and sound. Apparently my call back to the flat was an amusing one with me on the other end of the line drunkenly trying to explain where i was.

I was just looking today to try and work out the route i must have taken and exactly where Potters Bar is. It is 5 miles north of where i live and just outside the M25, hence the change in area code so the taxi back wasn't too bad. But the thing that is confusing me most is that according to the transport for London website to get from Golders Green to Potters Bar is a journey involving 3 different buses. So my conclusion is that one of the following things happened. A. I didn't get off at Golders Green at all and was somewhere else allowing me to get a direct bus to Potters Bar. B. I changed buses... twice without noticing. Or C. They didn't kick me off at the end of the line and finally noticed i was still on the bus at the bus depot. I think option C is the most likely. But I hope it was option B. I think i can discount A as i distinctly remember Golders Green.