I was so busy last year I didn't get to see the Knitting & Stitching Show so when a friend told me they were putting on a spring show in London I was very excited- even more so when I realised it was another great excuse to see Merle again.

The show was held at Olympia in London and whenever I have been to other shows there the tube has run its special journey to take people to Olympia Station from Earls Court so it never occured to me to check that was happening before I left home...

Fast forward to this morning and me standing on the platform at Earls Court, with no members of staff to ask nor signs or any information indicating the trains wouldn't be running. I knew they wouldn't be going frequently but after 45 minutes I finally gave in and checked the show website- and learnt the trains weren't running but there was a courtesy bus.

By then there was a large crowd of women who all looked as though they were going to the same show as me and I didn't think it would be fair to head off without telling them the travel situation...

Next thing I knew I was heading out of the station leading a convoy of about 50 women (and one lone businessman who was going to a franchise seminar at the same venue).

Of course it was only as we went to leave the station there were signs talking about the courtesy bus... and that it went from the other exit at the opposite end of the station.

So I led my merry followers through the station, frequently stopping to chivvy along stragglers who were waylaid by chatting or distracted. I'm not quite sure what they managed to find to be distracted by but distracted they were.

Once we got to the stop we learnt the next bus was going to be a 30 minute wait but we could get a regular bus there. Cue me checking all the gang had their travel cards etc on them and reassuring them we would be fine.

Fortunately a bus came after not too long a wait and then I just had the bus ride to get through. Who knew that elderly ladies panicked so much? At no point did the poor bus driver manage to get more than 5 feet along the road without being asked if we had missed the stop. That went on for the whole ride despite his and my reassurance that we were fine.

Once we got to the right stop I just had to lead them, and by now we had picked up extras so there were a good 75 or so of us, along the road, across a crossing and into the venue- about five minutes walk. It didn't seem fair to abandon them now I had got them so far, but with more stragglers and distractions it was getting very tempting.

By the time we got there I was about 45 minutes late to meet Merle and my nerves were frazzled. Thank goodness the venue wasn't too crowded and we were able to sit down and have a coffee so I could recover.

The show was very different from its autumn variant but I really enjoyed it and managed to make a few purchases. The main thing I treated myself to was a tapestry kit by Emily Peacock and after much deliberation I chose the peacock kit

Once I was done at the show I headed home and spent the rest of the day diving into the tapestry as a reward for my good deed this morning.