Monday, December 26, 1988

A Lazy Boxing Day ...

Another late rise for me today. I woke up at about 11 a.m. and had some breakfast. Viv and I went for a walk to the beach early in the afternoon. It was a windy but beautiful day outside. I was able to get a lot of really good black-and-white photos of the area.

After buying The Daily Express newspaper and a blank tape, we returned to Viv's house and ate some lunch. I then made a tape of various songs from the "Now That's What I Call Music XIII" album Viv's sister received for Christmas.

Later on, I got a call from Dr. Morrison. An old friend of his and her husband, who live in Edinburgh, have graciously offered to let J.P. and I stay at their home during our travels, and so we went over the details about our impending arrival tomorrow.

After watching James Bond's "Octopussy" on TV, I called the Granthams to confirm my arrival and let them know when we expected to be there.

Afterward, Viv and I played a game of Scrabble. I won the first game we played, but she beat me this time around. Only the second person ever to beat me at the game (the first being Little Johnny, who's amazingly good.)

Then it was time to take a hammering at Monopoly. We finished that game at about 1.30 a.m., when I finally went bust. Viv, who took over playing for her Mom, won the game.

Next I gathered my stuff together for my journey to Edinburgh tomorrow, then went to bed.

Pictured: #1: I'm relaxing along the beaches of Skegness. #2: Another view of the coastline. #3. The Daily Express newspaper that I purchased this day. Obviously, the Pan Am Flight 103 tragedy was dominating the news coverage... although there was still room for a photo of young Prince William and his cousin!

Sunday, December 25, 1988

It's Christmastime ...

Wow, I woke up later than I've ever woken up on Christmas morning... 11 a.m.! My previous "late" record was 9 a.m., which I did last year. The Schofields don't open up gifts until after lunch, so I didn't miss any of the fun.

At 1 p.m. (8 a.m. in Camp Hill), I called home to wish my family a Merry Christmas, and see how everyone was doing. My sister Angie had already been up for awhile (she probably woke up even before I did!), and Dad was just getting up, while Mom had just returned home from working the night shift. So I had a chance to talk to everyone.

Mom was glad to hear my voice, as she expressed concern for my safety after hearing about the Lockerbie plane crash 4 days ago. She knew in her head that I was fine, but there was that little tinge of worry that I might have somehow figured out a way to surprise them and fly home for Christmas. Of course, my finances being what they are, that would be impossible (perhaps a blessing that I'm a poor college student.) She was also worried about Doug, because she knew he was flying home but didn't know what day he was planning to leave. She was relieved to hear that he flew out two days earlier.

After a delicious Christmas dinner, we watched part of "Back to the Future" on TV, then switched the channel to "The Empire Strikes Back" while we opened gifts. Her family was very kind and generous to me. I got a diary from Viv's parents, a shaving kit from Karen, candy from Roseanne and Grandma, a Europe book from Dr. Morrison, and Viv gave me Pink Floyd's "Delicate Sound of Thunder" live album on cassette, an ALF poster, and shortbread cookies. I gave Viv the book "The Complete Works of Shakespeare," which I think she may already have, and a stuffed teddy bear.

After the field ended, I called J.P., who was staying with Kenny up in St. Andrews, to tell him when and where we will meet in Edinburgh. Sounds like he's having a good time.

Then I called good old Scott, my friend back home, to wish him a Merry Christmas and update him about how things were (and that I was safe.) We talked for a few minutes, and said he's still dating the Tamster (Tammy). It sounds like he's pretty serious this time. He's talking possible marriage in a couple of years. Wow, a friend of mine talking about marriage? While we were hoping there was a chance he might be able to come over to visit me while I was over here, he said he doesn't think that will be possible, because of money, which is certainly understandable. A few of my friends said they might try and visit, but so far none of them have indicated that they will be able to.

After another meal, we got a game of Quizmaster going. We all played, and in the end, Viv and I squeaked out a victory. Lateron we also got a game of Monopoly going, but we (Mr. & Mrs. Schofield, Roseanne and I) didn't finish it. We left the board up to finish it tomorrow.

Although it felt very different, it was still a memorable Christmas. Hey, I just realized that I didn't even leave the house at all today.

Pictured: #1: The Schofield's Christmas tree. #2: Viv's parents (left and right) and her Grandmother, 83. #3: Roseanne and Viv, opening Christmas gifts.

***

• Number One Song in Britain This Week: "Mistletoe & Wine" - Cliff Richard
  
• Number One Song in America This Week: "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" - Poison

Saturday, December 24, 1988

From London to Skegness ...

I woke up early today in order to catch the train to Skegness... Viv's hometown. J.P, Viv and I bid farewell to the Bajaria's and thanked them for putting up with us this past week. Then we caught the train from Longfield to Victoria Station. From there, J.P. went his own way (to visit his exchange family. But he and I will re-connect after Christmas to do some more traveling), while Viv and I headed to King's Cross Station.

Unfortunately, we missed the train we were planning to catch, and the one we had tickets for, but we were still able to catch the next train. However, that train was packed (this being Christmas Eve and all), and we were forced to stand or sit on the floor until we arrived at Grantham. We got of the train there and made the change to Skegness, boarding this cute little train that went about 10 mph.

We finally got to Skegness around 2.30 p.m., where Viv's parents showed up at the train station a short time later to pick us up and take us back to the house. They took the "scenic" route to show me the area, and when we got to the house I had an opportunity to meet the entire family: Viv's grandma, who is 83 and losing her hearing and sight, but still very alert; Roseanne, Viv's 14-year-old sister; Karen, Viv's 17-year-old karate-enthusiast sister and her boyfried Mike.

Anyway, we relaxed on this Christmas eve, with Viv and I taking a walk to a nearby store, a visit to the shoreline (photos above), and then to visit her friend Debbie. It still doesn't feel like Christmas, but I think that's because of all the traveling we did today. Later on we watched some telly, then went to bed, with visions of sugarplums, etc., etc.

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.