Wednesday, April 13, 2016, and we were preparing to leave for the UK on Thursday 14. But all preparations were put on hold as we drove the hour or so to Drouin to attend a house concert presented by the Baw Baw Trio. A programme of Mozart, Smetana, and Brahms was not to be missed, and we were truly rewarded with splendid performance followed by an excellent lunch, all in the company of good friends.
But of course, from such a great start to a day, things could not help but go bad! Back home, a miskeyed Net Bank transfer left us with $1000.00 floating somewhere in cyberspace, and all we could get from the bank was the reassurance that ‘it would eventually find its way back home’. The next problem was getting the ever-increasing number of passwords and PIN numbers mixed up—–two failed attempts, and then a caution that a third failed attempt would leave the plastic card stuck inside the ATM. And only a few hours before it was time to leave. The queue in the bank was hours long, so back home for a desperate attempt to reset the PINs on-line. For us, this is nail-biting territory. But fortunately all went well,— that is, until the lights on the car taking us to the airport malfunctioned, and we had to go back home and swap cars. But at the airport, all went swimmingly. We scored adjacent seats, and the check-in staff, the ‘Border Force’ staff, and everyone we had to deal with before we could get on the plane, were great. The carry-on baggage scanner man even had a sense of humour, commenting that the colour of Ann’s green handbag that I was carrying whilst Ann was being manually scanned for her steel knees, didn’t suit me!
The Cathay Pacific plane left on time, and we could not fault the service provided by the cabin crew. A two-hour transfer at Hong Kong Airport went very smoothly, and apart from having to pay too much for very second-rate coffee, (and getting the change in HK dollars for which we had no further need), there were no problems there. It was a bit disappointing that the weather at Hong Kong was bad, and we could see nothing as we flew in, as we sipped our coffee, or as we flew out. But at least we did not have to go out into the rain, unlike our great niece Martha, who is currently studying in Hong Kong (from the UK), and our grand-daughter, Amy-Ann, who was there visiting her cousin, taking advantage of Martha being there.
The route then took us north over China, west across the top of Russia, and south over Scandinavia and so to England, where we shall be staying for the next five weeks. It was interesting to note that for most of the trip between HK and the UK, there was complete cloud cover beneath us, so it wasn’t just Hong Kong that was getting lousy weather. And when we reached Heathrow, we found that it was raining, and about 11oC. So on the whole, the flight was boringly smooth and uneventful, which is as it should be, and just how we like it to be.
Our nephew Roy picked us up at Heathrow and after a brief stop at their home to pick up our niece Kate and to eat an excellent but very quick dinner, Roy drove us to Margate and dropped us at our bed-and-breakfast accommodation. This was a change of plan from the original intention of stopping the first night with Kate and Roy. But circumstances necessitated an earlier arrival at Margate, and we were fortunate that our B & B had a spare room available for the night. So, after 27 or so hours in the air, and a couple more on the road, we arrived at Westbrook Lodge Guest House around 9.00pm Friday April 15.
The reasons for the timing of this particular trip to the UK included the fact that the health of both of Ann’s aging brothers was deteriorating; John, living in Scotland, has for several years, been suffering the slow decline due to Parkinson’s, whilst Geoff, living in Margate, has the more rapid trajectory of cancer. The reason for the last minute change of plan on the day of our arrival was a sudden deterioration of Geoff’s condition. Suffice to say, that for the first few days, our strategy has been to spend as much time as possible with Geoff and other members of his immediate family. But this blog will concern itself more with the other aspects of our trip, starting with a stroll to Margate town centre for the rather prosaic purpose of organising a mobile phone!
So, to continue. Friday morning, after a splendid Full Monty English breakfast, I bent my steps toward the centre of Margate. It was a bright clear morning, with a north wind that could only be described as freezing. I don’t think I have experienced the sensation of tingling ears for over 20 years—-since we made a trip to England one Christmas. There were a few hardy Englishmen, who normally only venture forth with their mad dogs during the noon-day sun, on the beach exercising said dogs. I stayed on the promenade holding onto my hat with one hand, alternately trying to warm the other in my pocket. Margate sea front has changed little since our last visit (2012), but maybe just a little lest mindless graffiti, and maybe one or two seafront amusement arcades looking less depressed. One noticeable change was that the clock in the tower built to celebrate the Jubilee of the late Queen Victoria had been repaired, or maybe just wound up, and actually displayed the correct time.
I continued around the front toward the harbour, and to the bottom end of the High Street. Now this is an area which is continuing to improve, albeit slowly. An article in the local newspaper states that the much maligned Turner Centre has, in the five years of its existence, injected in excess of £50 million into the local economy. There are some very inviting cafés established, but before I ventured in, I found a phone shop, purchased a new sim, and got it installed. I then went to Café G at the very bottom of the High Street, with glimpses of the harbour, and had an excellent coffee, whilst sitting out of the bitterly cold wind making a few calls.
One of those calls was to my sister, Brenda. It was lovely to speak with her, and we arranged that she and husband Eddie, would join with us for dinner that evening at the B & B. Here, I shall just mention that the Westbrook Lodge falls well into our usual standard of accommodation, being in the shabby-genteel category. The current owners (less than two years) are a delightful couple of youngish Italians. They are very obliging, interesting to talk with, and are making a great effort to systematically refurbish the rooms. Our room is ‘up-stairs’, and the view from the bay-window looks out across an area of grass which includes a bowling green, and used to include a 8-hole putting green, to the sea beyond.
Our dinner comprised simple Italian home cooking, and a bottle of Italian red wine, and was a nice way to finish our first full day in Kent.
Slingsby's Miscellany 