Well I eventaully made it to Brighton.
For those who fancy all the gory details:
Left home at 7AM to catch ferry.
Made it to Southampton Central by 8:20, ready for 9:00 to Clapham.
All trains to London then got cancelled as there was a points failure at Brokenhurst and no trains could get through.
Arms started to freeze.
Advised to get 9:44 to Portsmouth, get off at Fareham, then catch train from there to Clapham. People shift over to that platform.
Points failure at Brokenhurt fixed, so back to original plan as the train was not long after the 9:44 and would be direct.
Switch back to platform 1.
All trains to London delayed again, 9:44 alternate now gone.
Train to Waterloo finally arrived 10:30 ish
So full that the literal only place to stand was between the automatic sliding internal doors that kept closing on me.
Annoucement that there would be another train soon.
Got off, as the door situation was driving me insane.
Next train then got delayed.
Eventually got on the next to Waterloo when it arrived after another 30 minutes or so.
Just as we left the station they announced that it was soooo late that it would go directly to Waterloo without ANY stops.
Everyone groans.
Then they announce that actually it was so late they would simply stop as Basingstoke and go back the other way.
Everyone groans again.
BUT.... there would be a connecting train being held at Basingstoke, which I could get off at Woking to then get to Clapham.
Sorted.
Except the train being held at Basingstoke didn't exist.
So everyone groaned and waited for the next Waterloo train, which was delayed.
When it did arrive it was so full only a handful of people could get on.
Eveyone groaned.
Then I finally manged to get on the next train, by standing in the door basically, but there was a woman almost in tears, deeper in the standing people, saying over and over "there's too many people", so I took one for the team and got off.
And THEN the next train a while later eventaully got me to Clapham, whence I could get down to Brighton in a breeze.
All in all, a very eventful morning.