so i am going to coventry for a weekend. no, don't laugh. anyway, the return train ticket would cost about 35 quid. so i obviously investigate. i plan to leave on the friday and come back late on sunday.

first thing i do is randomly think "ooh, if i could stay until monday evening, i could play the pokers", and by randomly reading something on another forum, i check the megabus website, and can find coventry - manchester on tuesday afternoon, for, er, free. just a 50p booking fee. woo.

well, that's very nice. that covers the latest departure, but let's sort out the arrival. leaving friday at about three, i could buy a ticket direct to my destination for 14 quid, but instead i can buy the same advance to birmingham for seven, and then get a normal cheapo single to cov for four. first beer bought.

so now i just need to worry about the way back should i not be able to grab sofa space. i notice that if i wanted to get national express back, it'd cost me 16, which is ok, but i can do better. a single on the train would cost me 33 (note that, as the return is 35 or so, it is ridiculous), but i can own that, surely?

why obviously. that ticket price is from coventry - my shitty village.

if i buy four singles, from coventry to wolverhampton to stafford to stoke to my shitty village, it, er, is ten pounds cheaper.

so, yeah, owned?

this is also the same system that allowed me manchester to london first class return for under forty quid because i bought in advance.