Eurostar now booking SIX MONTHS in advance

Excellent info, thanks Philip.

And while speaking of Loco2, you can now book tickets on their website from any UK station, via the Eurostar, to any mainland European destination. That includes a ticket from your UK station to "London International CIV" (in other words, St. Pancras International), so the CIV International Conditions of Carriage apply and therefore if your UK train is delayed and you miss your Eurostar you will be entitled to travel on a later train at no additional cost.

Yep - I just bought 21 tickets about 2 weeks ago for our group trip in June.

The Chunnel train site has been allowing US residents to book six months ahead for a couple of years now. From the Seat 61 site:

"...Booking opens 120 days ahead although it's worth knowing that you can often book up to 6 months ahead at www.eurostar.com by simply switching to 'US-English' and booking in dollars at the US version of their site. However, if you are going beyond Paris or Brussels, I strongly recommend waiting until booking opens for the onward journey (normally 92 days ahead) and confirm onward train times before buying a non-changeable non-refundable Eurostar ticket..."

http://www.seat61.com/London-to-Paris-by-train.htm#.UqdvxuKQMfM

Goodness, separated by our common language.
What is, or what are "Little and Large?"
Second, is Eurostar commonly considered a countable noun in the UK, as in Eurostar are?
Finally, I've seen reactions to the word Chunnel before. Why is it so offensive or cause such strong reactions? Interesting differences.

Bets, "Chunnel" isn't offensive at all, but it gives that mildly annoying feeling of someone pretending false-familiarity with the subject/place. It is the same thing going on with non-American people who go on travel forums and use "Big Apple" or "Frisco" to refer to New York and San Francisco, much to the astonishment of locals.

Collective nouns often take the plural verb in general UK English usage, and this includes company names. However, this is not followed 100% - for example The Economist newspaper style is for collective nouns to be singular always.

As to use of the word Chunnel, UK usage is by and large confined to newspaper headline writers looking to save space, and those who believe Harold Wilson is still the Prime Minister in the white hot heat of technological revolution. There may be other exceptions.

"Little and Large" were a comedy double-act from the 70s & 80s, and into the 90s.

"Eddie Large was generally the funny man while Syd Little was the more serious 'straight guy' says Wikipedia.

Look on youtube to judge for yourself ...

I appreciate your explanations, humor and all. Indeed, I understand the comparison to "Frisco", a false familiarity. Bay Area locals call it "the City" in conversation. Right Rosalyn, Roberto....

Only tourists call San Francisco "Frisco", and no self respecting Northern Californian would call it that.

I was in St Pancras International station this morning and had a chat with one of my Eurostar colleagues. I saw the absolutely Times Square on New Years Eve crowds the full length of the check in area. Yes, it was Friday, and a couple of weeks ahead of the big push for Christmas, but the crowds were truly prodigious. I questioned my colleague about check in time and she confirmed that, yes, they are still very strictly enforcing the minimum 30 minute check-in - that's 30 minutes before travel time for having your ticket through the check-in reader; not queued up waiting to put your ticket in the machine. She said that they are suggesting 45 to 60 minutes as an absolute minimum. She reminded me that check-in opens for each of the Eurostar services at 60 minutes prior to departure and you can queue before that to relieve worry.