Bak in Skool Agayn

My triumphant return to work was less than triumphant.

Plan was to leave home at normal term time, walk to work and arrive at normal school holiday time, get lots of things done, finish and walk home again.

So far it has gone like this:

Wake up late.
Realise that it is raining and decide to travel in by motorbike.
Get outside and try to start bike. Fail, because the battery is flat; I've only used it once in four weeks.
Decide to take public transport and charge the bike battery tonight.
Get to station, discover my Oyster card isn't in my pocket, and the fare without it is now £4 each way.
Walk home again, get travel card (in pocket of jacket I was wearing at the weekend) and head out again.
Arrive at station as the train is leaving.
Wait for the next one.
Eventually get the train. Amazingly, it doesn't break down, crash, stop and refuse to move on, etc.
Get soaked walking the final few hundred yards to work.
Amazingly I was only ten minutes later than my usual time in the school holidays.

Now doing stuff like descaling the still, working out a technician's rota for next term, etc. Fun fun fun...

Getting a package collected - Northampton to London

I'm interested in buying some books but the vendor is in Northampton and is offering them for collection only, and I don't need them so badly that I want to spend the time and effort needed to go there myself.

Assuming that the vendor is prepared to pack them in a box for collection, can anyone recommend a courier company that won't ask an arm and a leg to pick them up and deliver to me in London? I'd guess the weight will be around 20kg.

This isn't urgent, the auction doesn't end for nearly a week.

Thanks!