There's (nearly) no escape from Le Web

I learnt an important lesson this evening, at the cost of some time and shoe leather. However interesting the end session is, if Le Web is over-running don’t hang around. Why? Because you’ll end up stranded at the venue, along with at least a coach’s worth of other people, after the last coach goes.

By the way, if you want an example of how thin a veneer the “transparant, honest, social” creed of the web industry is – watch people elbowing each other out of the way to cram onto the last buses out of the venue. Amazing how quickly people lose their civilization…

Some poor member of the Le Web team (she probably drew the short straw) had to tell 60-odd people that the last two buses that they couldn’t get on (possibly through being insufficiently skilled with their elbows) were indeed the last two. They were on their own on making their way home – with the nearest Metro stop and the next two down the line out of service. Some tried to call a taxi, with little luck. I gave up and headed to Porte de la Chapelle to catch the rail replacement bus, accompanied by Marcin Fejfer.

We eventually made our way to Jules Joffin – only to find that the Metro wasn’t running south either. I walked back to my hotel, with a pause for a late dinner in a local bistro. So much for my evening plans…

Lessons, other than “don’t stay late”? Perhaps the Le Web team could make a little more effort to ensure that coaches are there when the event runs late. One more coach – just one – would have got the rest of their (expensively) paying customers much closer to home. But even that wouldn’t have dealt with the Metro problems.

Ah, well. It’s not a Le Web without some small disaster, be it snow, hunger or hypothermia…