No roads lead from docks to the Dome

As the ad strapline for the Millennium Dome says, last Wednesday was “one amazing day” for the Diary, which made a brave attempt to arrive at the Dome in time for a press conference announcing New Year ticket sales.

According to a London Underground staffer, there were “problems on the Jubilee line” that morning, so to get to the Dome the Diary should take the Docklands Light Railway to East India station. It proved very bad advice.

The station is in the middle of nowhere. A six-lane motorway runs past it. The Diary tramped through bogland towards an office development glimpsed on the horizon, to be told: “No, taxis do not pass through here.”

In desperation, the Diary entered an office block and explained the situation to a receptionist, who nodded knowingly and called a cab – as she probably does for Dome visitors on a regular basis.

The journey time from Brixton, also in south London, to the Dome? One and three quarter hours – with muddy shoes.