I wrote this after coming home from England, a meeting in
Newcastle. I arrived by train from another town.
I had checked the cost beforehand and thought it looked unusually humane for England. I got a shock when I was about to pay.
“£50
please.”
I told the lady I had seen a different price on the homepage.
“Indeed
so. £15 was if you bought it in advance.”
England consists of grass when you travel by train.
 |
| Not a UK shore, this. |
A B&B by the sea. It had a small leafy garden. The
blackbird sang at 6 am outside the window. It was beautiful, but I found it
difficult to appreciate him. Scrambled eggs for breakfast (I am a vegetarian; there
was not much to eat for me). It was difficult to swallow the wobbly eggs and the
landlady seemed offended. Very nervous before the meeting.
I went to the beach while waiting for the taxi and walked by the shore road in my pink shirt. Very bad asphalt, it towered above the beach. Here
and there were stairs leading down to the beach. The old stone stairs were slimy from
green water plants and I wondered if the tide went up to the stairs but there were
no warning signs. The beach was gigantic, continued in both directions as far as I could see. Grey sea birds whaled
as they looked for prey.
Sea and sand. Nothing
more, so I went up again. Voices calling me at the road.
“Sir,
do yu have a pund?”
I turned around and saw some fifteen year old girls.
“We
need it to ta’ bus,” she continued hurriedly.
I like the dialect in the north. People in Sweden would
seldom speak to strangers. The meeting was nothing to worry about.
The flight from Newcastle to London was some hours late. Military
exercises. People sounded like angry cats around me when the plane finally took
off
London; too much.
I missed the flight to Sweden. There was one SAS flight to
my destination that evening, that was all, but the attendant told me: ”You will probably
not make it, half an hour left. ” I insisted. There was no economy tickets
left. I demanded a business class ticket or a hotel room and got the ticket. So
I ran down the corridor, the transfer buss was empty. I pleaded to the driver
to go at once which he amazingly did. We rushed down empty tunnels. I thanked
him and hurried down another empty corridor until security demanded I would
remove my shoes (etc.). I have never been so close at missing a free business class
ticket.
The plane was full of people at economy class but almost
empty in the other section. As the plane took off a steward explained that: “Everyone
is welcome onboard and business class passages will be served an excellent meal followed
by a free choice of wine and spirits. Economy class passengers can order a cold
meal during the evening.”
I have never been at the other side of the curtain which
separates people from the people who can afford to pay £1000 for a one way
trip to Sweden. I remained left wing anyhow.
It was night when landing; the archipelago looked beautiful
from the air.
