It’s about 1:00AM here, and I am settling down to get a couple things taken care of.
First off: the last couple of days.
Saturday/Sunday Morning:
The flight to Manchester was a bit mad, I had to sit there for like two hours because of my layover. They apparently had overbooked the flight, so it was a little crazy. The speakers for the announcement system were actually not in the gate (where everyone waits for the flight), so they kept making these announcements and no one could actually understand them, it was very frustrating, because I knew they were important but could not make out what they were. It was so unnerving I actually went up to two of the flight attendants and told them (loudly) that I was hard-of-hearing and could they please repeat the announcement. Turns out what they were saying was that they had overbooked the flight and they wanted people to give up their seats in exchange for a flight the next day, a hotel, meal vouchers, and $400 towards airline tickets. That was grand and all, but I had a party to be at the next day, so I really didn’t have a lot of options.
The flight was extraordinarily long (7+ hours) partially because again they didn’t supply headphones, and I didn’t want to pay $5 to watch Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer, which is a terrible movie, even by airline standards. My seatmate was much more interesting, and we chatted for a bit. Sadly, he slept through most of the night, while I, not one for sleeping on planes and a bit overtired at this point, slept maybe 45 minutes the entire time. Not to mention I had gotten sick the night before I left and so I had a headache and a runny nose as well.
Sunday Morning/Evening:
I was very happy to touch down in Manchester, although super-nervous about customs because of
I got off the plane and headed through customs where a rather terse (but still nicer) customs official asked me several questions. He asked me the length of my stay (one month), the purpose of my stay (wedding reception and traveling), then asked me who’s wedding reception (Roger’s), and how I met him (International Unicycling Convention in Washington in 2oo2). That last answer seemed to throw him for a bit of a loop, but I think he thought it was a little too crazy to be a lie. He also asked me twice if I had had any problems going through customs last time. After I said “no” after he asked the first time, he asked me again, and when I answered “no” again, he peered at me for a second before letting me through customs. Not sure what that was about, but I was very glad to be out of there. One thing that was a blessing, he didn’t ask me if I have sufficient funds for this trip, which is a question they are supposed to ask. That made me super thankful, because in reality, I really didn’t because I, in-fact, am not really paying for my trip, so I had all the money I needed, but I was afraid not nearly enough to satisfy the customs people. I was really very pleased that he skipped that question.
After customs I waited for my luggage with a nice girl I met actually before I got on the plane to Manchester. She’s a teacher in the US who’s boyfriend lives in the UK, and so he comes to the US in the summers to be with her, and she visits him on school breaks. Then I finally got my luggage, and headed out.
I was met in the airport by Miark and Patrick. Miark, as you remember, was my travelling buddy from last time around, and Patrick is a juggler/unicyclist who lives with him, who I had also met before. They had brought a tandem bicycle into the airport, and tried to convince me that the three of us were going to ride back home (two hours by car) on it, and simply throw my luggage on the train. It was a terrifying concept, and I was relieved to find out they were kidding. The drive home was punctuated by singing, joking, and repeated exclamations of “We’re SO glad you’re here, Hope!” And lots of hugs. We stopped midway back to grab some food, and I could not resist the opportunity to have the “American-style” chicken sandwich that was on the menu. It was battered a bit like a fish fillet, and didn’t strike me as American at all. Perhaps it was East Coast American or something.
After getting home I slept for 5 hours while Miark and Patrick decorated for the party. I woke up and checked my email very quickly while waiting for them to come pick me up. Patrick’s girlfriend Liz showed up first, and I had a lot of fun meeting her. She is absolutely adorable in every possible way, and very friendly, so she made me tea (two cups, actually), and we had a good time talking. We hung out until Miark and Patrick picked us up for the party.
The party was in the Walworth Castle Hotel, outside of Darlington.
It is quite spectacular, although a bit gaudy since it’s apparently been redone on the inside.
It was great fun to see Roger and Mini for the first time.
absolutely jumped out of his seat in an exclamation of unabashed affection as he smothered me with a hug. He had brought his new girlfriend, who told me promptly that she had heard all about me, making me wonder exactly why that was. Roger was also very pleased to see me, although you could tell that both he and his wife Connie were quite busy and tired from there long weekend of traveling and receptions.
The reception was nice, I was getting tired again, but enjoyed watching the party-members engaged in Ceilidh dancing (pronounced kay-lee, a Scottish style of dancing) and chatting with various different people. Roger and Connie (both prominent unicyclists) had asked the band to set aside dances for the unicyclists as well, so several of the dances were performed on unicycles, which was pretty entertaining to watch. At a bit after midnight, we headed home.
Monday:
Having gotten to bed at about 1:30 that morning (and still being jet-lagged) I slept until about 5:30pm today. This, of course, means that it is 2:00AM while I am typing this, and I am not in the slightest bit tired. I am sure you will hear about the ramifications of that as well. After I finished sleeping, Miark and I had “breakfast” and then went shopping at Tesco. I have missed that place dearly (a super-inexpensive shopping center) and we enjoyed wandering the aisles.
We have also made a rough plan of our trip. I hope to update you with it soon.
Hope Helps 