Sunday, January 8, 1989

From Penzance to Hull ...

Woke up at 8.15 and went to eat some breakfast. I managed to lock myself out of my room in the process, but fortunately it ended up not posing any problems for me. I had a good breakfast, and afterwards I gathered my gear, paid my bill, and began my walk to the train station along the seacoast. (Picture #1)

It was a foggy day, and I was able to get a really good shot of the island, as well as a most unusal shot of a grocery cart in the sea (one of two that I saw... how does a grocery cart end up in the ocean?) (Picture #2)

Caught the train and relaxed. Not much to do really for the next nine hours but read, eat, play some solitaire and enjoy some of the scenery that southern England has to offer. Cornwall is a very beautiful part of England, I must say. I was really glad that I decided to make this a part of my vacation trip.

The train was filled with college students, no doubt doing the same thing I was doing... returning to their respective colleges and universities. The train arrived in London's Paddington Station at around 3.30 p.m., and at 4 p.m. I caught a train that was bound for Scotland. Of course, I was only riding it as far as Doncaster.

A little while into the trip, I noticed that the train was taking, for no apparent reason, a longer route through Lincoln. It ended up adding about an hour to my trip. So I finally arrived in Doncaster, but then had another half hour wait before the train to Hull arrived to pick me up.

I finally arrived in Hull at about 9 p.m., and was safely back at The Grange halls about 20 minutes later. There was no immediate sign of life, but it wasn't long before Viv stopped by my room, just having returned to the halls with her father and dropped off a few of her things.

I continued to unpack and unwind, and later, Viv joined me to wind out the evening. It was a great trip, but it's also nice to be back with friends and get things back to normal again.

(Pictures #3, #4, & #5 are all shots of Penzance.)

***

• Number One Song in Britain This Week: "Especially for You" - Kylie Minogue & Jason Donovan
• Number One Song in America This Week: "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" - Poison

Saturday, January 7, 1989

Plymouth Rocks ...

Last day of exploring today, so I decided to try and make it a good one. J.P. and I woke up a little past 8 a.m. for yet another good breakfast and showers, then paid our bill at the bed and breakfast and were off exploring Plymouth. (Picture #1: The Belvedere, located along the Hoe. I'm sitting at the bottom steps.)

We started out walking along the waterfront, in a public area known as The Hoe. Took some photos, then continued walking along the shoreline, enjoying the scenery. That eventually led us into Barbican, which is the old shopping district of town, and we walked around there a bit. Once again, I was able to find two more James Bond books for my collection ("Moonraker" and "Dr. No"), which was helpful. (Picture #2: The Royal Citadel, an historic fortress along the coastline.)

From there we walked back to the newer shopping district, more modern and a sharp contrast to the old shopping district. Overall, I found Plymouth to be a very modern and impressive town. We found a market where we walked around some more, and where I found yet another James Bond novel, "Live and Let Die." I now only need to find "Casino Royale," "Octopussy" and "From Russia with Love" to complete my collection of the Ian Fleming James Bond series.

On to Penzance... or, the Very Model of a Modern Major-General ...

Well it was at this time, shortly before noon, that J.P. and I parted ways for the first time since we joined up in Edinburgh. J.P. decided for the last night, he wanted to head up to Blackburn and visit Big Jon. However, since I would've had to find my own lodging in Blackburn, I opted for a different adventure and decided to travel to Penzance, the furthest point southwest that you can go in Britain (at least by train!) Yes, the "Pirates of Penzance" Penzance, along the coast of Cornwall. (Picture #3: For the love of Pete, put down that camera and get me off this ledge, J.P.! OK, it seemed funny at the time...)

So J.P. and I bid farewell, and after withdrawing £15 from the bank (hopefully my last withdrawal for a long time), I caught the 11.45 train to Penzance.

I arrived in Penzance a little after 2 p.m., put my big brown duffel bag of gear in a train locker, and began to scour the seaside town's offerings. I casually examined the little shops and the seaside, looking for bed and breakfasts. Since I caught the town during the off-season, a lot of the places were closed. Fortunately, I found one open and within my price range (£8.50), the Glencree Hotel (Picture #4).

I unloaded my gear, took off my jacket (because it was so warm - springtime weather in January!), and continued walking around town. This time I brought my camera along. I bought some postcards while ambling about, as well as some dinner (a chicken sandwich and chips). I also bought some ham and rolls to make sandwiches (and save some money) on the journey back to Hull tomorrow, as well as a 6-pack of Pepsi (they didn't have Coke) and crisps.

I walked along the sea coast and took some pictures, then returned to the room, writing a few postcards. (Picture #5: The sun sets on a gorgeous day in Penzance.)

Watched the news, then caught "Thunderball" at 6.45 on ITV. Now I was able to compare it to the book I had read, and could notice the many changes that had been made. Of course, it's still quite good.

After the movie I played some solitaire and read. Ate a Twix bar, then went to sleep not too late, in the hopes of waking up in time to catch the 9.47 train to London Paddington, on my way back to Hull.

Friday, January 6, 1989

Birthplace of The Bard ...

Only a couple of days left before we have to return to the reality of college life in Hull!

J.P. and I ate breakfast at about 8.30 a.m. (very good and filling), then packed our things, left the pub, and explored Stratford-Upon-Avon.

First, we went to visit Shakespeare's Birthplace. (Picture #1: Me at Shakespeare's abode). It was a very well preserved old home. We walked around the house, admired the historic furniture and costumes, and especially the original manuscripts and books on display. We even got into an interesting conversation with one of the tour guides for quite awhile.

I got some keen photographs of the home, then we walked through the gift shop (which we learned was not an original feature of Shakespeare's home when he lived there!). I bought a Shakespeare poster for Viv. (Picture #2: My ticket stub from the tour. Yes, it may seem like I saved everything!)

Next we walked along the Avon River (the "Upon Avon" part of Stratford), marveling at the hundreds of ducks and swans that congregated along the banks of the river. It was quite amazing. (Picture #3: The Royal Shakespeare Theatre, and a congregation of ducks and swans in the Avon River.)

We walked into the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and looked around a bit. Decided not to get tickets to see a show today. (I did get to see one, "Julius Caesar," when I was here for my class trip in '87. That was a bit of a mistake, though. A group of tired high school travelers taken to see a heavy 5 act, no breaks, play. However, I'll never forget when my friend Justin, who had fallen asleep, was startled awake by the actor's scream of "Brutus!")

From there we visited the Church of the Holy Trinity, where Shakespeare is buried (and was baptised). We continued to scour the town, and I found a book store where I bought two more James Bond paperbacks for 25p each. We ate a good meal at a little restaurant that had a luncheon deal for £3.50. It was well worth it!

Well our next destination was Plymouth, which required a bit of a train ride. So after lunch it was time to bid farewell to Stratford and head back to the train station. We wrote a few postcards until the train to Birmingham arrived. I finished writing mine on the train ride while J.P. slept.

When we finally got to the train station, we had a long wait because the train to Plymouth was delayed 78 minutes due to a freight train that had caught fire and forced other trains to re-route.

Soon, we boarded the Inner City 125 and were on our way to Plymouth. We sat next to a very annoying kid who liked to use the word "turd" a lot, but it was an otherwise pleasant journey.

We were overwhelmed by our first impressions of Plymouth, which were even more pleasant. The weather was warm, and it was enjoyable walking around at 9 p.m. We found a very nice Bed & Breakfast to stay in (Picture #4, the business card for Westwinds, where we stayed), for only £9.50 each, then went for a walk and grabbed some dinner.

The waterfront was incredible, and the scenery along with the unbelievably warm weather almost immediately made this trip to Plymouth worthwhile. (Picture #5, the scenic Plymouth Hoe Waterfront, featuring the landmark Smeaton's Tower.) We continued to walk around and found a nice little restaurant that was still serving dinner. We both ordered the lasagna and salad. After dinner we explored the waterfront a bit more, the site where the Pilgrims departed for America back in 1620. Then we returned to the room, where after a little reading, I went to sleep.

I don't think I can express enough how pleasant this place is.

Tuesday, January 3, 1989

An Unrivaled View of the Lake District ...

Woke up for an 8.30 a.m. breakfast (a good, hearty English one!), paid our £10 bill to the kind folks at the Lynwood Bed and Breakfast, then J.P. and I were off. Money is getting scarce, and a cashpoint machine was nowhere to be found in the Lake District, which could prove troublesome.

So after buying a deck of "Lake District" playing cards as a souvenir and scurrying around town, J.P. was able to get £10 out of a Barclay's cashpoint machine... although it cost him a ridiculous £1.50 to do so. Then we were finally off for some sightseeing.

We first followed a footpath that, according to the sign at the start, promised us an "unrivaled view of the Lake District." Well if it's unrivaled, then it's the view we want.

Indeed, it did provide us with quite a picturesque image of the Lake District. There was a light fog that misted through the valley and provided us with an interesting atmosphere to enhance our "unrivaled view." (For awhile, J.P. and I used "unrivaled" to describe nearly everything we encountered.) Good pictures here.

We continued to explore for awhile, looking at sheep and pretty landscapes (waterfalls, sheep, trees, more sheep). (Photo left is of sheep doing sheep things.)

We also had a most interesting encounter with a mule, and when we strayed from the trail for a minute, I caught a glimpse of what I thought was a deer. Turns out it was actually 3 deer. Unfortunately, they ran off before I could snap a photo of them. It still made my day.

We walked back to Windermere where we grabbed some pub grub, then made an unsuccessful attempt to visit Grasmere, where William Wordsworth lived and where my class trip visited the previous year. When that didn't work out, we walked around some more, saw more sheep, then found something labeled a "Public Trail."

But was it? All we found was mud, horse manure (or some kind of manure, anyway), and a fence enclosing a private farm. So we snuck out with manure on our shoes and snapped a picture of the "trail of no return."

At this point, it was time for us to depart and prepare for the next leg of our journey. So we headed to the train station, unloaded our luggage from the locker, and caught the train to Oxenholme, satisfied with our journey to the Lake District. Our next stop, Manchester, where we were planning to stay with Liz Ortega.

But our plan hit a snag when I called Liz from the Oxenholme train station. It seems she was having a bit of a row with her parents, and she didn't think that we'd be able to stay at her place. That could definitely pose a problem for us.

Well we caught the next train to Preston, where we sat in the "cattle car" once again, and then from Preston caught our last train that took us to Manchester. Once we got to the station, I called Liz again, and she had some good news for us. She said we were allowed to stay in her brother's apartment, since he was in Holland at the moment. Good break!

So we hopped onto a very crowded bus and made our way to Ashton-Under-Tyne, where Liz met us at the bus station, after which we all went to McDonald's for some dinner. Then we caught another bus that took us to her brother's flat, then unloaded our gear when we arrived. Since the heat had been shut off, the flat was rather chilly inside.

The three of us sat inside and talked for a bit, during which time we opened up one of our bottles of wine. When Liz left, J.P. and I played some cards... "Blackjack," of course (not the "21" variety most commonly attributed to this name; the British version.) It's a game we played a lot back at The Grange Halls.

We played for awhile in a bit of a giggly mood (partially because of the cold room, partially because of the wine), and midway through we decided to mix it up a bit and play some Gin Rummy instead of Blackjack. However, after the cards were dealt, we both apparently forgot and just started playing Blackjack again. We both had a good laugh when we realized what we had done.

Finally went to sleep around midnight.

Monday, January 2, 1989

On to the Lake District ...

It's another day of traveling today... this time from St. Andrews to the famed Lake District of western England. After gathering our gear and saying our farewells to the Pruntys for their generosity, Mr. Prunty drove J.P. and me to the train station, where we caught the train.

It was crowded, but we still managed to waggle ourselves two seats, which were free but were reserved for other passengers once we arrived at Edinburgh. Well, when we gave up those seats, we were fortunate enough to find two seats that were only reserved from Carlisle.

But once we arrived in Carlisle, our luck ran out. The train by now was completely packed, and at this point we had no choice but to stand in the "cattle car" for the bulk of our trip.

During our trip south through Scotland we passed by the Lockerbie train station, site of the Pan Am Flight 103 crash 12 days ago. We didn't pass by the crash site (picture #2 is of the Lockerbie crash site from the newspaper), but that's just as well.

Well it was a relief when we were finally able to depart that train and climb aboard the train that would take us to Oxenholme, and from there we caught another train to Windermere, the small town right in the heart of the Lake District, perhaps best known as the home of famed British poet William Wordsworth. (Picture #3 is me acting like a nerd at the sign welcoming us to Windermere. Yes, I said "acting." Shut up.)

J.P. and I first found ourselves a Bed & Breakfast room, then walked around Windermere for a bit. We found a trail to hike, which was very scenic and followed a stream (photo #4, below).

We soon happened upon the tiny hamlet of Bowness and began our search for a place to eat. Our search failed miserably, so we returned to Windermere, where we met with no more success. After resting in our room for about an hour, we returned to Bowness at about 6 p.m., and this time we found an open restaurant, Gibby's, where we could dine. Whew! We were starting to think that all of the restaurants were closed for the season.

We had a 15-minute wait, but that was nothing considering how long it took us just to find a place that was open. And it was worth the wait. J.P. had haddock while I opted for the turkey dinner. I paid for it with my Access card.

After eating, J.P. and I walked back to the room, watched "Desperately Seeking Susan" on TV, followed by a Woodie Guthrie special, and then went to sleep. We plan on checking out more of the scenery here tomorrow.

Friday, December 30, 1988

Loch Ness Expedition ...

J.P and I got our wake-up call at 7.45 a.m. and were downstairs by 8 for our breakfast. It was a delicious collection of bacon, sausage and egg (salmonella-free ... which is fortunate considering the recent outbreak here in Britain), breads, tea and cereal. We left the table feeling full and satisfied, well-aware that we had received more than our money's worth at Mrs. MacTaggart's bed and breakfast.

We each took a bath, and then packed our bags and bid our farewell to Mrs. MacTaggart at a little past 10 a.m. We walked around Inverness for a little bit before catching the bus that took us down the road to Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness. (All three pictures are of Urquhart Castle, #2 including me and J.P. on the hill overlooking the castle. The photo on the banner for this blog was also taken at Urquhart Castle.)

The weather was overcast, but surprisingly warm, dry, and wind-free. We arrived at the castle at noon, and then spend an hour and a half exploring it. It was actually the ruins of an old stone castle, which made it all the more interesting, and nestled in lush green landscape and set right along the famed Loch Ness. Very picturesque... easily the most gorgeous place I have visited here in Britain.

We climbed around every place we were permitted, snapping a number of photos and thinking about all of the people who would be jealous of where we were at the moment. No, sorry, no signs of the legendary Loch Ness Monster.

After seeing all that we could, we caught a 1.30 p.m. bus back to downtown Inverness, and then ate a late lunch at a place called Charlie's Diner. J.P. also purchased a pipe, and seems to be enjoying that as much as the lighter he purchased a little while back. He's becoming a regular sophisticate.

We then casually made our way over to Inverness Castle, which as it turns out, is nothing more than a municipal building, but a scant 150 years old! Still rather nice for a government building, and it was on the site of a former castle. We walked around town for a bit longer, then headed to the train station, where we sat for awhile, writing postcards until we could catch the train to Glasgow (though we were only taking it as far as Perth.) I finished writing my cards on the train, and did some other writing as well, and then did a bit of reading.

Then the trip ventured into the bizarre.

We arrived at the town of Perth, where we were to change trains to Dundee, and then St. Andrews, where we were planning on spending a few days with our friend Kenny Prunty. But we soon found out we had an hour and 15 minute wait here. So while we were waiting in the very quiet train station, we decided to check out the adjoining coffee shop. However, we couldn't get any food because there wasn't a cook, just a red-haired guy who was more interested in playing the pound machines than serving his customer's interests. J.P. ordered a gin and tonic, while I had a coffee in a dirty mug.

While we were here we took note of a vagrant that we named "Froggy" (because of a voice resembling the "Little Rascals" character), and his gang. They provided us with some very interesting entertainment, a little show with our beverages, you could say. When J.P. ventured out into town to find some food (a failed mission), Froggy put on another fabulous show, although I couldn't understand most of it.

At one point, he came up to me and asked what book I was reading, and I showed him my James Bond paperback. He looked at the title, laughed, and then grabbed my head for a second in satisfaction, then left. We finally left the Twilight Zone for Dundee, where we had another hour long wait for the next train we needed to catch. This time we went into town and we had a more successful food sortie.

We finally got to the train station in Leukers, where we then took a taxi to St. Andrews. Finally got to Kenny's house, told him of our evening's misadventures on the train, then watched some TV, read a bit, then finally went to bed.

Thursday, December 29, 1988

On to Inverness ...

Woke up early and took a bath in preparation for our biggest "adventure" yet. J.P. and I gave the Grantham family a gift of appreciation (chocolate ginger) for letting two American college students invade their lovely home for two nights, then headed for Kingsknowe. There we caught the 10.55 a.m. train to Edinburgh, and there we caught the 11.35 train bound for Inverness (picture #1), the furthest north I've ever been.

It was a beautiful journey through the Scottish highlands. When we arrived in the town of Inverness a little past 4 p.m., J.P. and I made our way through town. We stowed our gear in a locker at the train station, and then began our search for a reasonably priced bed and breakfast. We came across a tourist center, where we were able to make a reservation at a place just 10 minutes walk away.

So we gathered our gear, crossed the Suspended Walking Bridge (picture #2) across the Swift River Ness, and eventually arrived at the home of Mrs. E. Mactaggart (picture #3 is her business card). It was a comfortable place, and we got a room with coffee, tea and biscuits in the morning for only £8.50 each.

We unloaded and rested, then went into town for some dinner. We found a Pizzaland restaurant, where we had a ham and pepperoni pizza (forgetting that here, "pepperoni" is actually "peppers"), which was good. We then walked around town a bit, but there wasn't much to see because it had long since been dark in town. The one thing we could see was the castle in town (picture #4, on the hill in the background), which was beautifully lit.

With nothing much to do, we returned to our room in the bed and breakfast and sat talking and reading for awhile, drinking a bottle of wine that J.P. had purchased. At 9 p.m. we went downstairs to watch TV. We opted to watch "Gremlins" over "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" because J.P. had never seen it. During the movie we started playing a partial game of Monopoly, but stopped midway through because J.P. just wanted to watch the movie. So we did until 11.45, when we went back up to the room. I read a chapter, then went to sleep.

Tuesday, December 27, 1988

From Skegness to Edinburgh...

I woke up bright and early (at 9.30 a.m.!) and showered in preparation for my journey to Edinburgh from Skegness. I bid farewell to the Schofields and thanked them for their kind hospitality, then said my goodbyes to Viv, who I won't see again until we return to school on Jan. 8. They drove me to the train station in order to catch the 10.49 train and begin the journey to Edinburgh.

I took the small train back to Doncaster, where I then changed to a speedier Intercity 125 that zipped me along the rails to Edinburgh. The train was packed, so I decided, rather than fight for a seat among the coach class crowds, I paid 3 quid and upgraded my ticket for this journey to first class. It was well worth the extra money. I had a very comfortable and scenic trip up along the North Sea coast. I wish I could've taken some photos of the small picturesque villages on the tiny peninsulas that extended out into the sea, the rugged sea coast, the mighty moors and the beautiful landscape.

I arrived at Edinburgh's Waverly Station at 4.20 p.m., and 30 minutes later I met up with J.P. We then called the Granthams, and J.P. and I then went and got some food while we waited for Mr. Grantham to come and pick us up. It was dark by this time, so we got to drive through Edinburgh at night, which gave us a chance to marvel at the lights and sights of the city, particularly the castle on the hill. (pictured, right)

When we got to the Grantham's house, which was very nice, we enjoyed a delicious meal of lamb. Then we sat and talked with them while watching TV. During this time, we decided on a whim that as part of our trip we should take a trip way up north to visit Inverness... the town located near Loch Ness. We watched "The Eagle Has Landed," then I read some of "You Only Live Twice," and then went to bed.

Photo is of taxis waiting in a queue in Edinburgh. This is one of my favourite pictures taken during this trip. This scene just had a very old-fashioned British look.

Friday, December 23, 1988

Duranduran at Wembley ...

I had a lie-in today until a little past 10. J.P., Viv and I didn't even leave for London until about 2.3o p.m. We got to Victoria Station at about 3 p.m., where J.P. split from us to go to the Tate Gallery (Doug and I visited the museum back when we came to London in October.)

After buying a train ticket for our trip to Skegness tomorrow, we walked to a bank, then ate lunch at McDonald's. We did a little shopping, then made our way to the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square.

It was quite fabulous, and unfortunate that we couldn't stay longer. We saw some great works of art by Van Gogh, Constable, Renoir, Degas, Seurat, and there was a special Rembrandt Exhibition going on, so our timing was perfect.

After we left the museum, we found ourselves walking toward Leicester Square eating roasted chestnuts (like you're supposed to around the holidays... this was the first time for either of us... very interesting flavor.) I bought a calendar to give to Viv's parents for Christmas.

Then we had a brief scare when we were separated for about 10 minutes outside of Athena/HMV. Not sure what happened, but considering how things have been around here lately, with terrorist bombings and such, we each got a little nervous, and were relieved when we found each other again. Relieved, but now running behind schedule if we were to make it in time for the big event of the evening, the Duranduran concert at Wembley Arena.

We quickly grabbed some burgers from Burger King, hopped the Tube to Wembley at 6.35 ... five minutes after we were supposed to meet everyone at Wembley. We arrived at the arena at about 7.15 and had to wait about 15 minutes to before getting into the arena to see the concert. It was me, Viv, J.P., Sid, Paul, and Sara. We had one open seat, where Doug... who organized this evening for us, would've sat had he not left on Monday. So we had a place for all of our coats, anyway.

By the time we got in, the opening act had already started, and they were BAD. It was a band called Stetasonic, and they were horrible, an off-tempo rap band. When they failed miserably on a version of Yakety Yak, it was followed by extensive booing from the crowd... well deserved I might add. Well a bit later I purchased a programme for 7 quid (bizarre but cool - top photo is from the programme cover), and then the next act started, a sort of Jazz-Acid style band. Interesting mix. Another cool thing, the band left "Christmas cards" on every seat in the arena for the fans (photo left is the cover.) Pretty cool. It had "Duranduran Merry Christmas" on the cover, and "angelic" pictures of the band inside (photo below). Nice souvenir! The also announced that this was the largest audience ever for a concert performed at Wembley Arena.

Finally, at 9 p.m., the lights dimmed and Simon LeBon, Nick Rhodes and John Taylor took the stage, opening with "Big Thing," followed by "I Don't Want Your Love," and "Girls on Film." It was a very energetic and exciting show, with performances of "Notorious," "Is There Something I Should Know," a very erotic "Skin Trade" (the dancers), "Rio," "The Reflex," "Wild Boys," and a tragically errored performance of my favorite song, "Save a Prayer," (Simon flubbed a line... otherwise, well done!)


They played several tracks off the new album, of course, including "Do You Believe in Shame," "Palomino," "Too Late Marlene," and "The Edge of America" and "Lake Shore Driving" as the encore. It's good to see that after all these years, Duranduran still has it (not sure why they turned the band name into one word, but I'll go along with it.)

Following the show, Viv, J.P, Sid, Sara and I went our way, while Paul went his way... back to his home. The Tube station was absolutely packed, so when the empty train pulled up, it was a mad dash to get in and hopefully grab a seat. We all managed to get one. At 11.30 p.m. we were back in Victoria Station and on the train to Longfield.


The Daily Mirror Incident

While we were riding the train back to Sid's, we found a copy of the Daily Mirror ("Yorkshire's Favourite Newspaper," but not mine!) When Sara got off at Bromley, I moved into her seat and Viv moved to the seat where that copy of the Daily Mirror was sitting. I picked up the newspaper, and in an act of defiance for no reason in particular, I tossed it into the next seat, which was empty.

However, I got a bit of a strong arm on the paper, and instead of landing in the seat, it climbed up over the seat and landed right between the two adjoining ones, balancing precariously over the person sitting in that seat on the other side. We were all rolling hysterically, because by all rights that paper should have gone over and hit that person in the head, but thankfully it did not. It remained there until that person left the train. At that point, J.P. fulfilled destiny by pushing it over the edge.

At the station in Longfield, Sid's mom was waiting for us and gave us a ride back home. Even though it was late, we still stayed up, watching "The Seven Year Itch" and eating bacon sandwiches. Then I packed for a bit, since we are leaving for Skegness tomorrow, and then went to bed. No one can say that we haven't used our time wisely this week. We saw and did quite a bit.

Thursday, December 22, 1988

Canterbury Tales ...

First, some very good and relieving news... we found out that Bits is OK, and that she and her family were not aboard Pan Am Flight 103. Sid connected with her brother and he let us know they arrived in America safely. As it turned out, she and her family flew to America on an earlier flight. Here's the scary thing, though... they were offered a package deal to take the Pan Am flight that blew up.

By the grace of God, they turned it down. Even though it was a better deal, the only reason they didn't take it was because they wanted to leave earlier. That was a stroke of luck. I'm sure they are counting their blessings right now!

Today J.P. and I took a late morning train to Canterbury, which is a 45-minute train ride south of Sid's house in Longfield. It was well worth the time spent traveling!

We arrived in Canterbury shortly after 1 p.m., and began the tour by walking along the wall around town, then up a hill that overlooks Canterbury. From there we could easily see the famed cathedral off in the distance. We hopped back on the wall, and followed it until it led us into the town center.

There we soon found the entrance to the cathedral, as well as a gift shop, where I bought a tea towel featuring characters from "Canterbury Tales" for my senior high school English teacher, Mrs. Rogoff. (Last year I visited her class and mentioned I was studying in England for the year, which she thought was a fabulous opportunity. Then she gave me some money and asked if I would buy her some literary things for her classroom. This was the first time I found something useful.)

We entered the cathedral, which of course was quite majestic. We spent about a 1/2 hour there, then walked into town where we eventually stopped to eat at a Poppins. Later we came back to the cathedral shop to buy a few more knick-knacks, then walked around town again, looking for the King's School. We eventually found it, once we discovered that it was actually attached to the cathedral.

From there we entered a different section of the cathedral, which included the cloister. It was dusk by this time, and I was able to get a few good black-and-white photos of this part of the cathedral.

After buying some fudge, we headed back on the train to Sid's house, and after dinner, J.P., Sid, Viv and I watched "Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan." It was a good movie, and interesting that never once did they actually call him "Tarzan."

When the movie finished, Sid's parents came home quite drunk, which was quite amusing. It was getting late and we were getting tired, so this was a good time to go to bed.

Pictures: #1, The Daily Mail, with more details on the plane crash, one day after it occurred. #2, Rick on the hill that overlooks Canterbury. #3, Canterbury Cathedral, with tiny J.P. walking through the gate. #4, A close up of the sculptures outise the cathedral, in B&W.

Wednesday, December 21, 1988

London, "Chess," and Terror in the Air ...

Today started out to be a fabulous day, but it ended tragically for passengers aboard a plane bound from London to New York.

I woke up later than I expected, and since J.P. stayed in Brighton last night, Viv and I decided to go into London on our own today. Sid travelled with us on the train for part of the journey. After arriving at Victoria Station and finding a bank, we went to Buckingham Palace, because Viv had never seen it, and I've never seen it when there wasn't a huge crowd surrounding it. Since it was not near the time for the Changing of the Guard, we got a pretty good look at the palace.

It was after 1 p.m. when we got back on the Tube bound for the Tower of London. We spent about two hours there, taking the guided tour and hearing all of the fascinating stories about the torture, imprisonment and execution that go along with the Tower. It was quite interesting, and I wished we had more time to spend there to explore everything in greater detail. We did manage to see the Crown Jewels, and there was no queue, which was a pleasant surprise, since its not unusual to have to stand in line for a considerable amount of time to see the jewels.

It was getting dark, and we were getting hungry. Plus, we were hoping to get tickets to see the musical "Chess," a show I have wanted to see for a long time. So shortly before 4 p.m. we left the Tower and headed to Leicester Square, where after another stop at the bank, we went to a kiosk and purchased tickets for "Chess" - at half price, no less!

So it was £22 for Viv and I, total, in row AA... wow! Now at first, I figured that "AA" meant we were in the first row after "Z" (zed). So I was fully prepared to watch the show from the 27th row.

There was still time before the show started, so we went to eat a delicious Mexican meal at Chi Chi's. It was Viv's first Mexican dinner, actually, which was a bit surprising to me, considering Spanish is part of her major. But I guess Spain and Mexico are two very different things. She enjoyed the meal.

Then we walked around Leicester Square a bit more, taking in the sights and sounds of London: the street bums, the buskers, the mimes, and the shops. After walking through the city for awhile, we returned to the theater at around 6.40, 50 minutes before the show started. We went in to the bar, had some drinks, and then took our seats. Turns out, I was wrong about "AA" being the 27th row.

They were front row seats. FRONT ROW! That was an awesome revelation. I thought it was a fantastic show. I love the music, the story is intriguing, and the acting was superb. In one of the scenes the actors threw out these foam "Chess" frisbees, and I managed to grab one of them. I'm not sure Viv enjoyed the show quite as much as I did, but she said she liked it.

When the show was over, we hopped back on the Tube to Victoria Station, and then caught the train back to Longfield.

Pan Am Flight 103 Disaster

Tired and happy from our day's activity, we relaxed on the train ride back to Sid's house. But as we were riding, we learned some very distressing news from another passenger who was reading a late edition of the newspaper. Earlier this evening there was a plane crash in Scotland. We took a look at the newspaper, and there weren't too many details as of yet.

It was a Pan Am 747 jet that left Heathrow, heading to JFK airport in New York. It apparently exploded in the air and when it came down it devastated part of Lockerbie, a small Scottish town.

My first thought was worry for Doug. But after thinking it through, I realized that Doug couldn't have possibly been on that plane, since he flew out two days ago. Whew, and thank God he did!

But then, after we got off the train and walked back to Sid's house, we were reminded that our friend Bits was flying over to America today with her family, and we had no idea what flight they were taking. Hopefully we'll find out soon if she's OK. This is just awful.

Yet another British disaster before Christmas. Coincidentally, we were traveling near the site of last week's Clapham Junction train crash when we learned about the plane crash. Flight 103 left Heathrow at 6.25 p.m., and the disaster happened about a half hour later... right about the time Viv and I were waiting for "Chess" to begin.

I'm starting to wonder if this is a safe place to be right now.

Tuesday, December 20, 1988

Today is Brighton Day! ...

I woke up early again, and Viv, J.P. and I prepared for our trip to Brighton on the southern coast. We planned to meet up with Neil for the trip, but Sid decided not to go along, and Bits couldn't join us, as she and her family are preparing to fly to America tomorrow for their Christmas holiday. Viv initially wasn't sure if she wanted to go, but decided in the end that she would join us.

We caught the train from Longfield to Victoria Station in London with just a few seconds to spare, then we found where the train to Brighton was (leaving in one minute), and sprinted over to the terminal, just making it in time. We weren't sure if Viv's train ticket would be valid (she has a CapitalCard), but no one checked our tickets so we had no problems on the ride south to Brighton.

Once we arrived there, Viv and I set off to find a bank, while J.P. waited at the train station for Neil to arrive. By the time Viv and I got back to the station, Neil was there, so the four of us walked to a deli and had good and reasonably priced sandwiches for lunch.

Following that we walked to the beach, which was beautiful... and different. Instead of sand, it was actually a pebble beach, with two piers - one defunct and one in operation. We walked along the beach until we reached the new pier, then walked along the pier until we reached the end. On the pier there were amusements, as well as a pub named Horatio's, so we went inside. There was a fabulous jazz combo playing in the pub... just two guys, a guitarist and a sax player. They were excellent, so we sat and listened to them perform for awhile. After a game of pool (J.P. beat Neil), we left the pier, but not before taking a few more photos. Got a lot of excellent photos today. It was a cold but lovely day to be outside.

We walked around the shops for awhile, then J.P. and Neil decided to head back to the pub while Viv and I went back to the shoreline. We sat along the beach until it got too windy, then went back into town for a meal. We ate at Burger King... Viv's first time. After eating we went back to the beach a third time, though by now it was quite dark, and unfortunately the lighting was not very impressive.

We decided to stop in a coffee shop to warm up with a hot cup of cocoa, then walked back to the station, stopping to buy postcards along the way. We saw Neil and J.P., but they had met up with a friend of Neil's and decided they were going to stick around in Brighton tonight.

So Viv and I left on the 5.55 train (almost the "5.15," as referenced in The Who's "Quadrophenia" song, but not quite.)

Along the way home, we hit some trouble.

While we were on the train, the conductor came through to check tickets, and when he spotted Viv's ticket, he informed us that it was improper, and then charged her £14.63, full fare plus return for the journey. He was pretty much a heartless bastard about the whole thing. It put a damper on our trip for awhile, but soon everything returned to normal ass memories of our day hopefully made the unexpected charge worthwhile.

We finally arrived in Longfield shortly after 8 p.m., and then walked back to Sid's house. That evening the three of us sat and talked, watched "Rocky," ate some food, and then watched an old thriller called "The Body Snatcher."

This was definitely a worthwhile day. I'm so glad we decided to go to Brighton, and I'm glad Viv decided to go along.

Pictures: #1: Neil and J.P. walk along the pebble beach near the new pier. #2: Neil and Viv on the beach. #3: "Oh, I thought you meant 'To keep.'" #4. The sun sets on daylight in Brighton.

Monday, December 19, 1988

Farewell Douglas ...

Well, we woke up early today in order to bid Doug a fond farewell, as well as spend the day in London. It's sad to see him go after only 3 months here, especially because he was so looking forward to spending the year in England. Unfortunately, it just wasn't the experience he was expecting. He'll be missed.

Well, for J.P. and I, today was an experience we will not soon forget, and gave us a harsh lesson in some of the challenges of international travel.

Before leaving Sid's house, I gave Doug his "going away/Christmas" present (a Dr. Who Crossword Puzzle Book, which'll give him something to do on the plane.) Mrs. Bajaria was driving Doug to the airport, and since we couldn't all fit in the car, J.P., Bits and I took the train to Heathrow Airport while Sid, Viv, Doug and Doug's stuff took the car. Soon after they left, J.P., Bits and I took the walk down to the train station, but when we finally got there we had just missed the 9.50 a.m. train, so we had to wait for the 10.18. So that put us back nearly a half an hour right off the bat.

Well, we caught that train and headed into London, travelling past Clapham Junction along the way (it was one week ago today, a little bit earlier in the day, when the Clapham Train Disaster occurred). We finally arrived at Victoria Station at around 10.45 a.m. There we had a runaround trying to get a travel card. We started at a booth that told us we could go upstairs and get one with our BritRail passes. But then we went upstairs and they said that we couldn't get one to ride the Underground trains. So we went back downstairs, having wasted 15 more minutes on this unsuccessful venture, eventually buying a ticket from the first booth we visited.

Finally caught the Tube to Heathrow shortly after 11 a.m., now with little chance of catching Doug before his plane left... but still hopeful we could catch his entourage there. We finally arrived at Terminal 4 at 12.05 p.m., just as Doug's plane was leaving... and we saw no sign of the others in our group, either.

Frustrated, we finally left the terminal, realizing that we had wasted most of our day (since it starts getting dark now at about 3 p.m. We caught the Tube back to London, arriving at 1.15 p.m. to start our travels and try to make the most of our afternoon.

Unfortunately, neither of us had Sid's phone number, so we had to call Information (twice, because we were unable to write down the number the first time we called, and by the time we could, we didn't remember what the number was.) After we finally got through and talked to the gang, explaining what had happened, we felt like an enormous load was lifted off of us. So we enjoyed some shopping in stores such as Hamley's, the world's largest toy store; and Virgin Records... totally revamped from when I was there a year and a half ago with my high school class, and amazing. J.P. called it the most incredible retail store he had ever been in. I bought an Elvis Costello discography book. We also went into HMV, as well as a little record shop where I bought a nice Genesis poster.

J.P., Bits and I stopped at McDonald's for dinner at 6 p.m., then caught the train back to Sid's house around 7 p.m. Back at Sid's, reunited with the gang, we relaxed and watched two movies on TV, "The Blues Brothers" and "12 Angry Men." During that time, J.P. and I ate another dinner, this one a curry and beef dinner prepared by Sid's mom that was spicy and good.

Went to bed a bit late, but a bit wiser. A day that started out to be a huge disappointment ended up OK. Still, I would've liked to have been able to say one last goodbye to Doug before he got on that plane and headed back to the States.