Mornington Crescent

[SimonSmith]

Bloody hell! I walked straight into that one. Where’s Declan Kidney when the 'Phone a Friend' lifeline is needed?

Leaves me wondering if Reading would have been acceptable under the rules as they stand. I mean the club’s still called London Irish, right? Even, if they are playing away from home, as it were.

In any case, it’s first in last out, as far as nid is concerned*. So you can’t actually pass Go and mustn’t collect £200 until belladonna is first released. Surely? [*Or technically last in, first out.] Someone has left an assassination team outside the gaol, so I am not sure he will be too keen on getting out of there all that quickly.

A fair point. But as jack Nicholson was advised, when they laid down the Polanski rule (no, not that one, the other one), forget it L'irlandais, it's Mornington

[Pablo]

Honestly, crossref, you can’t go all legal literalist and then over look something as basic as LIFO for being in Nidd! I said very clearly at the start that this was Cambridge Standard! Tsk tsk.

I couldn’t see if L’irlandais took his hand off his piece between playing Reading then changing his mind to E&C, but I’m prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt. We’ll play from E&C.

Here’s a long shot to get us back on track: Harrow & Wealdstone.

[L'irlandais]

Obviously not my turn, but a good opportunity to point out some of the hidden pitfalls. First tip for newbies, avoid playing the Picadilly line altogether until you are more comfortable with the basic rules of play.

Abandoned stations, for example!

Northern line between Old Street and Angel is a pretty long stretch because City Road station is closed.

Piccadilly line gap between King’s Cross St Pancras and Caledonian Road, watch out for York Road.

Piccadilly line between Knightsbridge and South Kensington. (Another long gap, you’ll notice.) Brompton Road

Piccadilly line between Green Park and Hyde Park Corner; Down Street which Winston Churchill used to refer to as The Barn. (God help us if any newbie evokes WWII rules. Let’s not go there!)

Aldwych on the Piccadilly line has to be my favourite, since in only closed on 30 September 1994.

Anyone changing from the Central to Piccadilly lines near Holborn, watch out for British Museum.

Charing Cross ( obviously not technically abandoned, as such). because it’s very much still there, but part of the station was closed on November 19th, 1999.* So please avoid both platforms that formed the terminus of the Jubilee line , which closed their gates to passengers after the extension through to Westminster, Canary Wharf, and Stratford was opened.
Hint: If you have a 007 card, you can play it here, but only on those two platforms. Far more likely is that you get fined by the British Transport Police (BTP), should they catch you down there.

Another on the High Barnet branch of the Northern line – is South Kentish Town station

In and around Cannon Street, Monument, and Aldgate East, be careful not to get off at Mark Street.

Not included in the last rewrite, presumably because the Law makers feel everybody knows these by heart. Here’s the link to the last “official” version

I only mention the obvious ones. That’s not even the half of it, but you will have to familiarise yourself with the intricacies of the Rule book and the various incomplete rewrites. Any newbies who find themselves stuck in an abandoned station, or unused platform at a valid station, please bear with us. We will endeavor to get you out. A quicker way back into the game is simply to place your counter in Nidd and restart from there, with all the inconveniences that involves.

[belladonna]

Here’s a long shot to get us back on track: Harrow & Wealdstone.

Oh thank goodness - that gets me out of Nidd!

I thought I would never get out, and by golly it was cold in there, but what's a girl going to do in self-isolation?!?

Strange to say, I was surprised to see a rather nasty gang of assassins on my way out, I rather fear they might have got me had they not been in the process of being moved on by the Old Bill for being a non-family group outside without a lawful excuse on a sunny Sunday in April.

Phew! That was a close one. I have to say, this coronavirus is an awful pennance, but it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good, as my dear old Nan used to say as she sat on deck in a force 9 gale.

Avoiding the Piccadilly Line is very good advice for newbies, thank you L'Irlandais.

Bearing that in mind, and seeing as Ellis's Prolate Spheroid Perambulation Variation is in play, I think a trip to the Oval is long overdue.

[SimonSmith]

Oh thank goodness - that gets me out of Nidd!

I thought I would never get out, and by golly it was cold in there, but what's a girl going to do in self-isolation?!?

Strange to say, I was surprised to see a rather nasty gang of assassins on my way out, I rather fear they might have got me had they not been in the process of being moved on by the Old Bill for being a non-family group outside without a lawful excuse on a sunny Sunday in April.

Phew! That was a close one. I have to say, this coronavirus is an awful pennance, but it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good, as my dear old Nan used to say as she sat on deck in a force 9 gale.

Avoiding the Piccadilly Line is very good advice for newbies, thank you L'Irlandais.

Bearing that in mind, and seeing as Ellis's Prolate Spheroid Perambulation Variation is in play, I think a trip to the Oval is long overdue.

Prolate and not prolapsed?
That has doomed my previously planned move.

I now move priapically to Cockfosters

[L'irlandais]

Funny we should mention Kennington Oval, because I think this game, like cricket only starts to get interesting around day five.

I will see your Cockfosters, and go with Pimlico

Résumé of the action so far:

Chalfont & Latimer
Any tacticians bear in mind this (Metropolitan) is the only line to operate an express service. Thus marking Pablo out to clearly be a bit of a strategist.
Ruislip Manor (Metropolitan line) back toward Baker Street. (Bit of a defensive move.)
Tooting Bec Excellent choice, one of only the 29 stations south of the river which are actually underground.
Walthamstow (Central, presumably) As a point of order, when referring to the northern terminus of the Victoria line please do give the full Station name.
Richmond on the District line.
Leicester Square Northern line Piccadilly line interchange
Canary Wharf on the Jubilee line.
Elephant & Castle ( less said about that mediocre choice the better)
Invalid call from Nidd. Nidd is for three turns, under the Cambridge unabridged rules. Patience.
Oval Northern line
Cockfosters Terminus on Piccadilly line
Pimlico Victoria line.

Rule sets for anyone who bothers to adhere to such things.

[beckett50]

In honour of Her Majesty's Speech last night - and invoking the little known Windsor Variation - I play ​GREEN PARK

[L'irlandais]

Again waiting for one of my Southern Hemisphere team mates to wake up.

I like the fact the Queen mentioned her 1940 speech.

During the Blitz, this game was very popular, perhaps due to maps of the network being close at hand. During bombing raids, it helped distract children from the danger outside. The locals identified themselves to the crowd by using Cockney rhyming slang before saying the station names. Not sure what any American GIs present made of the game. Nowadays, in the safety and comfort of your own home, with Internet that should not pose too many problems. Especially, since you are supposed to be calling from memory and not consulting the Underground map too much.

There is even an App from TfL.

Interesting choice Green Park on the Piccadilly line, between Piccadilly Circus and Hyde Park Corner, the Victoria line, between Victoria and Oxford Circus, and the Jubilee line, between Bond Street and Westminster.

Originally called Dover Street when it opened in 1906, the station was rebuilt in 1933 and renamed Green Park after the nearby 40-acre triangular park, next to Buckingham Palace, a peaceful public place in the heart of London. What most people don't know, however, is that Green Park was actually a massive burial site for diseased Londoners. The park is said to have originally been a swampy burial ground for lepers from nearby St James’ hospital.

Another massive graveyard was found underneath the new Liverpool Street Underground station when Crossrail was built. 3,000 skeletons from the Bedlam psychiatric hospital were found.

[belladonna]

In honour of Her Majesty's Speech last night - and invoking the little known Windsor Variation - I play ​GREEN PARK

Well said, beckett50. Continuing the royal theme, I'll go to Kings Cross.

[L'irlandais]

I was dreading someone would say King's Cross.

"Things have taken a turn for the surreal."

Which, though you may not realise it yet, leaves us with only one choice.

Click the "Red Button" to reveal the unpleasant truth, only click the "Blue Button" if you wish to remain in blissful ignorance.