North to the Land of My Forbears

I suppose, since I spent the majority of the day on one train or another, it is not so surprising that this is the only photo I took on September 28, 2012. I remember trying to take some out of the train window that were not successful.

On that day one year ago, I went from the Midlands of England to the heart of Glasgow. It was a Friday, and as the afternoon progressed, the train became a sort of rolling party with people leaving their weekly toil behind and kicking back on their way to the weekend.

Unlike the day before I had a window to watch the passing landscape. There was quite a bit of rain, and in late afternoon there were rainbows.

At Glasgow Central I was met by dear friend John and was whisked away to join Elspeth for dinner at home. Great beginning to some great reunions in the next two days.

On the Move Again - 27 Sept 12

 Being careful not to mistake King's Cross for St Pancras (I was heading north, but didn't need the Hogwarts Express!) I was able, with my knowledgeable guide to enjoy this interesting old station before boarding the train for my next destination - Loughborough.

This was the trip that taught me the truth about travel in the UK on a Rail Pass.Walking up the platform I saw the First Class cars and kept walking. There were two cars for those who had not paid the extra fee. I went clear to the front of the train, which in my experience in Japan might have meant more space.  I pressed the door button and was flabbergasted to  see several people sitting and standing in the section at the end of the car where there are no proper seats.  After a brief exchange with a male passenger about my kind of ticket, he arose from his fold-down jump seat and said I should "Go on then." He was adamant and I gratefully accepted the seat where I had a clear view of the luggage storage closet. There were several people standing in there too. During the trip people, bags and bicycles came and went. I held on to my seat and was grateful to arrive in Loughborough.

There were no apologies from the railway people.  Repeated announcements simply stated that the train had one fewer car than had been intended. This too was far different to my Japan experience where announcements are commonly made to apologize for being two minutes behind schedule for the next station.

A quick phone call had my host on his way to pick me up for my one night stay on my way to Scotland.

Thanks to the Aylings, G and H who made my brief stay in the Midlands enjoyable.