New Year New Outlook

Faced with a business appointment in Birmingham last week I decided that, despite the recent hike in fares, I would follow the advice once given so memorably by Sir Jimmy Saville and 'Let the train take the strain'.
As usual I had underestimated the amount of time it took me to organise myself out of the house so I decided to phone for a taxi rather than take a bus. Only that way would I be sure of catching the earlier less crowded train. I use a local firm who are always prompt and so, with just enough time to spare, I parked myself and my briefcase on the passenger seat and announced confidently to the driver 'Midland Station please'.
Had I asked to be taken to Alpha Centauri I could not have received a more perplexed and quizzical reaction, a repetition of my chosen destination produced no improvement in the situation. After some minutes of fevered question and answer we established that I was asking to be taken to the train station, 'why on earth didn't you say that in the first place?' was the look I received when we had finally sorted it out.
By the time we set off it was obvious that I was going to miss the earlier, less crowded, train. Cursing my luck I squeezed myself onto the later train and, with great difficulty and no little tact, into a corner seat past someone whose frame could not be contained in the single space provided for the purpose and opposite someone else whose legs stubbornly refused to vacate the area normally allocated for my side of the table. Awkwardly seated, I started to feel even more uncomfortable as I slowly realised that the delay in the taxi which had led me to this cramped corner was my responsibility and mine alone . Why? Because the information I gave the driver was the problem.
For about 70 years in Nottingham there were 2 main railway stations, Victoria, which was run by the Great Central Railway and Nottingham Midland. To tell them apart they were, naturally enough refered to as 'Victoria Station' and 'Midland Station'. Despite Victoria stations demise in the mid 60s the name 'Midland Station' lived on and it was by that name that I came to know and refer to it.
My mistake was that I hadn't realised a changed reality that, with one station since the mid 20th century, the name I was using in the 21st was as obsolete as a starting handle for a car. As we start out on 2011 it was a timely reminder that we should all challenge our assumptions every so often to see whether changing reality or the passage of time means a rethink is in order. Not only will it force you to keep abreast of latest developments it will also mean you catchyour train on time.