To think you check you can get home?

[Ayechinnyreckon]

A colleague/ friend came over for Christmas. Arrived Christmas eve and was meant to leave today.

They're a pleasant enough person but we aren't good friends so it's not as relaxing as it might be having them around. Before they arrived we agreed they'd come Christmas eve and leave boxing day - explained we already had plans both 24th and 26th for all day visits with family, all was fine.

They arrived Christmas eve and all has been well however when we discussed returning home, they didn't know what time their train was on boxing day (we were working out the best way to get them to the station). So they looked up train times, apparently for the first time since deciding to join us for Christmas! And lo and behold, there's no trains on boxing day.

I'd have thought it was fairly standard to check both sides of a train journey before departure? Now they're hanging around an empty house they don't know all day! Nothing within walking distance is open today so they literally have nothing to do!

Aibu to think you check you can get home before you set off?

I can't get past the fact you've had somebody staying 2-3 days who you aren't particularly good friends with. 😆

And now you're annoyed that they can't leave as soon as you'd like because they've got no transport.

Batshit! 😂

You sound like a super host OP.

i do think maybe with the causal “everyone pile in and celebrate” nature of your hosting it can sometimes result in this sort of thing, where you attract flaky people who just go with the flow and don’t really think things through or plan well. It’s almost the ideal breeding ground for this sort of thing to happen!

Yes, the UK extends beyond England

Yes of course, I understand.

I am willing to bet this guest is a man. All the men I know would just assume there would be trains on Boxing Day and everything would just fall into place if they arrived at a railway station. All the women I know would have thought to check in advance and probably book.

I am well aware of that thank you, but I can't speak for train services on Boxing Day in Scotland, Wales or NI because I know nothing about them, hence my question and the wording of it. No need to be shirty and defensive.

Scottish, are you?

You are lovely to show such hospitality to somebody who is not a very good friend. Of course you are not being unreasonable!

I am the only one that thinks it really weird that OP has invited a colleague she’s not all that fond off for two nights over Christmas?

@Ayechinnyreckon If you knew them better you might know they were a bit unorganised but since you barely know them, part of this is on you. Baffling.

I would not be leaving them in my house. I would ask them to book themselves into a hotel next to a station or something and drop them off/ tell them to sort an uber.

They should sort themselves out. You shouldnt be aware of how disorganised they are. They sound useless tbh. At work too, no doubt.

In answer to the original question, no not everybody checks whether trains are running on their chosen day. Especially if they don't often travel by public transport. Those of us who use the trains a lot are well aware that all kinds of things can go wrong whatever the day, and that Boxing Day trains are rare as dodos.
This sounds like a very nice guest to have hanging around anyway!

It is a bit rubbish of them to not have checked return journeys but some people are like that. I wouldn't personally get too upset about them lounging around watching telly whilst you're out all day though tbh but we're all different.

And let’s be honest - train services are likely to be better in England than in Scotland and Wales.

It's come as news to me that they don't!

I can remember getting trains on Boxing Day when I was young, but that was 50-odd years ago. It used to be a Sunday service.

I’ve seen several trains go past my window today (Scotland)

A lot of people seem to think it's weird you had this person there at all. I don't. I think it's kind and normal. I might be mistaken about the second of those, which is a shame.

A few people seem to think that this person is a cross between Bill Sikes and Feathers McGrew, and the whole thing is devilish scheme to engineer being alone in your house in order to snoop on your Googlesearch history and plunder your silverware. These people need some sort of professional help.

Quite a few people seem to think that you're a people-pleasing sucker and frankly you have no one to blame but yourself. Which doesn't really give us much insight into your personality, but tells us quite a lot about theirs.

Assuming you don't come home to find the sofa gone, I think you're right to be a bit disappointed you're not going to get an evening on your own with the other half, but you're handling this very well, and you're not getting it at all out of proportion.

"Drop them at a taxi rank. It's not your problem"?? For fuck's sake....

Blimey - some of the responses on this thread are so extreme! Guest is a work colleague not a stranger and there's no reason to think this is anything other than an honest mistake. Guest also sounds great - bringing nice gifts, playing with kids etc and is probably embarrassed by the situation. OP isn't outraged, just a bit miffed. She's done a kind thing in the true spirit of Christmas. I hope those posters demanding the guest be turned out to a hotel/airbnb/coach station aren't quite so mean-spirited in real life!

Having read the thread everyone involved sounds lovely so I'm sure this will all be fine.

I would never describe myself as sociable or gregarious as I'm really not, but bloody hell, some of the replies here about leaving them in hotel lobbies, expecting them to take 10 hour journeys or just cutting them off for the future are just awful, really.

I’m on a packed train coming home from the rellies right now (Central 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿). 😀

There may be no direct trains but surely there are ways for them to get home?

Not your job to put them up either. I'd be VERY clear that unfortunately as you had previously advised them you have plans for Boxing day and they are not part of those plans, so they can use this time to find somewhere to stay overnight until the direct train to their town is running again.

YANBU to be slightly annoyed. On the balance of probabilities it is a genuine mistake and you solved it the best you could.

Moreover, it's really funny to see how many people in this thread can't grasp people having different arrangements than they do around Christmas.

I really wouldn't be leaving them in my home alone if I only met them 3 previous times. Not a chance. I hope you've managed to sort something out. Why couldn't one of the other guests take them part of the way home if they are driving?

No way would I leave them alone in my house all day! Easy enough to book a hotel,which is what this person should have done,end of story.

That must have cost a lot
It's loads cheaper to book a specific train for that distance

Can they go to a hotel? Your invite has finished.

Why? What do you think they might do?

Met in person 3 times but op speaks to them at work pretty much every day - and outside of work too. Hardly a stranger.

I have work colleagues that I rarely meet in person but feel I know really well because we chat regularly on Teams/zoom etc.