My first visit to England.
One word... "Wow". :)
Day 1
Sunday, November 24, 1996
I arrive!
I can highly recommend British Airways
for long-distance travel.
Their food was wonderful, the service prompt, and the cabin stewards friendly.
Even though it seems like I travelled for a day, the flight was
only a little over 8 hours in length.
But, since I travelled to the east, I "gained" 6 hours in the process.
So, my arrival time at London Gatwick airport was 7:00 am on Sunday morning.
After spending what seemed like an eternity in the incoming immigration line,
I get the luggage and (perfect timing!) find Julian.
We pile all of the luggage (lots!) into the van with John, Marianne, Julian,
Vee, and Mark Edwards.
The van just does hold us all!!!
So, we start the 2 hour ride to the Stratford area.
We unload at the hotel, The King's Court, just outside of Alcestor
(pronounced "Ulster" for all of you non-English types!).
After dropping off all of the luggage in the room, we re-convene at the pub
(The Twisted Boot) in the hotel for tea!
It's my first exposure to British "tea time", and to tell you the truth,
the concept of hot tea with milk in it was never appealing to me before.
But now I'm hooked!
After tea, I return to the room for a brief nap to help catch up on the jet lag,
since John has arranged for a nice family dinner at the hotel restaurant with
everyone and his parents and brother for later.
Dinner was wonderful, as were all of the meals we had during my stay.
I had a great time during dinner, talking and getting to know everyone better.
After dinner, we retire again to The Twisted Boot for a pint of the local ale.
Contrary to popular mis-conception, the beers in England are not served warm.
They were nice and cool, and every pub we visited had a local brew to offer.
We spent several more hours talking in front of the fire before retiring for the
evening.
As I get back to the room and unpack my luggage, I check out of the window --
it's snowing!!!!!!
Unfortunately (or maybe not?) it doesn't really snow again (a few flakes here and
there, but nothing serious) for the rest of the trip.
Day 2
Monday, November 25, 1996
Touring the Midlands!
After arising with only a slight case of "jet-lag hangover", John picks me up
and shows me a little of the countryside on the way to visiting his dealership.
John owns "Edwards of Stratford",
the largest (and best, right John?) Rover dealership in England!
He gets to show off his very impressive computer setup that allows customers to
view, order, and sign for their new cars in a very efficient and visually
pleasing manner!
We pick up Marianne next door at her office (she works at the body shop next door
to Edwards of Stratford) and drive out to pick up a beautiful brand-new Range Rover
that John uses for the balance of our stay.
We then head out to the British Motor Heritage Centre for lunch and a tour around the
site.
The Heritage Centre houses many, many historical cars and other items
important to the development of the automobile in England.
We see a car that John's father actually used to own housed in the exhibits!
The director of the Centre (Fred Coultas) is a friend of John's and invites us up to
his office afterwards for tea and coffee.
Fred takes our jackets up to the office for safekeeping.
When we arrive, he's placed a "sticky note" on the back of Roger's leather
jacket asking for "£3000 or best offer".
Roger offers to split whatever offer Fred's received!
We enjoy our coffee and tea, and then mosey down to the gift shop to buy some
Christmas presents!
A local radio station in Stratford has asked John if they could interview me for a
"local interest" segment.
Given my job with NASA, they're quite enthusiastic and ask some really great questions.
Fortunately, I don't make a complete fool of myself... <g>
After a wonderful tour, we go back to the hotel to get cleaned up for dinner.
After getting Mark from home, John takes us to a huge hotel in Stratford for
another in a series of wonderful dinners.
We exchange some more stories, plan for the next day, and wrap up the evening.
This way for more adventures!!!!!
return to the trench