Surrey and the Thames

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, October 6-8

Not feeling totally on top of it, we drove the five hours from Cornwall to London--remind me never to plan on driving in the UK again unless it is absolutely necessary. The roads are narrow, as always, but now they are so busy with cars, trucks and busses that it seems as though you're driving on Constitution Avenue in the middle of English trees and fields. I see nothing except the road, I feel nothing except anxious that I shall stall in a roundabout--which I did regularly, shifting gears with the left hand--and thinking about the speed cameras marked everywhere. The Skoda Octavia diesel, a Czech version of a VW Passat, though, was an excellent car.

We made it to Surrey, though, the home John's cousin Hilary, her husband Frank, and daughter Maddy. We were joined by daughter Elizabeth and boyfriend Tim, for a lovely evening of conversation, good red, and roast beef.

On Thursday, not wanting to do anything in particular, since this was a family visit and family time, we went to the Swan in a nearby town on the banks of the Thames for lunch. Since it was a lovely day (20C--68F) with the sun shining we ate out lunches outside. A good pint of bitters, meat pies, and potatoes from Frank and me, dumplings with mince for Ben, and a salad for Hilary, made a fine lunch.

Friday, we took an excellent train from West Byfleet into Waterloo. 25 minutes on a train that appeared to glide on the welded tracks, almost silently through the suburbs. We sat directly behind a group of young English soldiers recently returned from Iraq or Afghanistan and listened as they discussed being under friendly fire from the Americans!