Well ain't that strange Ray!
But surely no-one should have to wait around for nearly an hour for any folks to turn up at all let alone things to get started?   
As for checking, well I did - I'd emailed Dave Nuttall a couple of days earlier specially to check but was unaware of his family problems, didn't think I'd need to check with anyone else.
The weirdest thing was what the pub staff were telling me - so was that a load of cobblers or wot? Who else d'you believe if there's no-one else around?
Late starting's not such a problem if everyone's in the know - but (a) late starts tend to creep into later still, it's a vicious circle, and (b) not everyone is conveniently "just around the corner".
Sorry if that sounds grumpy, but I'm just p***** off at having planned and then wasted a whole Sunday afternoon (now wouldn't you be?).