Comedian and presenter Jason Manford has shared the details of a nightmare journey with numerous disruptions caused by the extreme weather in the UK.
Manford, 41, who has featured on various comedy shows including 8 Out of 10 Cats, has been attempting to reach the seaside town of Margate for a comedy show he is performing on Tuesday evening.
Writing on his official Facebook page, Manford explained he was looking forward to a “little dip in the sea and a lovely gig,” but had instead had “quite the journey!” and detailed the various hurdles he had faced while travelling on Tuesday.
He wrote: “Quite the journey! Got the 11.44 from Stockport to London due to arrive in Margate at 16.38. Little dip in the sea and a lovely gig, that’s all I wanted!
“Train aircon stopped working. Stopped at Rugby to fix it. Tree fell on track ahead-30m delay. Said tree caught on fire. 1 hour delay. Train cancelled.
“Rugby station, couldn’t get a cab, couldn’t hire a car!
“Arranged with 5 fellow passengers to share cab to London for £70 each. By time we got to car it was £90 each.
“A lady started crying cos she was gonna miss her flights home! Gave her my space in the taxi (livid, we can all cry love! If only I could muster a tear for Margate!).
“Managed to get taxi over to Northampton (he wouldn’t drive further).
“Got a local Prius to drive the 2hrs 45m to Margate- he won’t put the aircon on (even tho it’s costing £210!).
“Said ‘we can either get to Margate or have aircon-car doesn’t have power for both!’
“Will arrive at 7.25 for a 7.30 show-delightful!
“You better laugh ya bastards!”
The UK experienced its hottest day on record on Tuesday, with the extreme temperatures leading to travel disruption across the country.
A temperature of 40.3C was provisionally recorded in Coningsby, in Lincolnshire, on Tuesday afternoon, beating the previous record for the UK of 38.7C in Cambridge three years ago, by 1.6C.
Alongside the lengthy post, Manford shared a selection of photographs from the various stages of his journey, including a notification that his train had been cancelled and him holding a can of whiskey and coke up to the camera.
Fans of the comedian commented on the post with support and wished him well on the final leg of his journey.
Manford, who has also starred in a variety of West End productions, is currently on his Like Me UK and Europe live stand up tour, which is runs until March next year.