End of travels in England
Arriving in Britain from Spain what I first noticed was the abundance of rules and the frequent reminders of these rules through witty signs and announcements everywhere I went. ‘ No roller blading in the station’ was what I heard as I walked into the London King’s Cross to catch a train and then when I went to look for a ‘litter bin’ I could only find signs warning that there was a 75 £ fine for littering. In order to throw my banana peel away I had to ask a ‘Bobby‘ to help me find a man cleaning, who had a cart and finally a litterbag. In France they have also eliminated garbage cans in train stations for security reasons, but in their place they have shallow cardboard boxes on the floor that are a little bit easier to find. The best sign I saw was one warning you not to spit out your chewing gum because they threatened to do DNA testing, find you and fine you.
It took a little while to get past the white bread, excessive butter, copious amounts of tea and the need to plan every minute of an outing, but in the end I had a very nice visit with my British family. I have family in England because when my grandmother was young she decided that after having worked as a nurse and mid-wife in Sheffield during the Second World War that she set out for adventure to Canada. I am intrigued by how she first decided to work in a hospital in Kenora, Ontario, courted an Irish-Canadian through correspondence and then shortly after traveled to live with him on a farm outside of Delisle, Saskatchewan and there had three children. Unfortunately the marriage did not last and my grandmother will always tell you it is her greatest regret that she had to leave her children behind when she left. She did try to bring her kids with her, but could not because they were Canadian citizens. In any case she later remarried and we have been adopted by our step family in Britain.
For the first few days of my visit I stayed with my step aunt in Hull on the East coast. Since my last visit she has become involved with a project providing aid to the small town of New Yundum in Gambia and for the first time in her life had the opportunity to travel outside of England. The project http://www.newyundumgoodwinlink.kk5.org/ has changed her life as much as it has the village and it was wonderful to hear all of her stories.
Arriving in Sheffield I caught up with my family and also with British television. It probably made up for all of the television I didn’t watch this year and I now know that some people can get quite excited while watching darts. One afternoon we went to the Butterfly house (a site just outside the city which is a little overrated), another day we were off to Leeds to visit the fascinating Thackray medical history museum and while in the city we had a quick peek in the posh shop of Harvery Nichols, really looking more for celebrities than clothes and then before we left we took my grandma to tour a few art galleries.
It was sad to say good bye to Europe, but sadder yet to say goodbye to my grandmother not knowing if we would ever see her again as she is turning 89 in the fall.
Arriving in Britain from Spain what I first noticed was the abundance of rules and the frequent reminders of these rules through witty signs and announcements everywhere I went. ‘ No roller blading in the station’ was what I heard as I walked into the London King’s Cross to catch a train and then when I went to look for a ‘litter bin’ I could only find signs warning that there was a 75 £ fine for littering. In order to throw my banana peel away I had to ask a ‘Bobby‘ to help me find a man cleaning, who had a cart and finally a litterbag. In France they have also eliminated garbage cans in train stations for security reasons, but in their place they have shallow cardboard boxes on the floor that are a little bit easier to find. The best sign I saw was one warning you not to spit out your chewing gum because they threatened to do DNA testing, find you and fine you.
It took a little while to get past the white bread, excessive butter, copious amounts of tea and the need to plan every minute of an outing, but in the end I had a very nice visit with my British family. I have family in England because when my grandmother was young she decided that after having worked as a nurse and mid-wife in Sheffield during the Second World War that she set out for adventure to Canada. I am intrigued by how she first decided to work in a hospital in Kenora, Ontario, courted an Irish-Canadian through correspondence and then shortly after traveled to live with him on a farm outside of Delisle, Saskatchewan and there had three children. Unfortunately the marriage did not last and my grandmother will always tell you it is her greatest regret that she had to leave her children behind when she left. She did try to bring her kids with her, but could not because they were Canadian citizens. In any case she later remarried and we have been adopted by our step family in Britain.
For the first few days of my visit I stayed with my step aunt in Hull on the East coast. Since my last visit she has become involved with a project providing aid to the small town of New Yundum in Gambia and for the first time in her life had the opportunity to travel outside of England. The project http://www.newyundumgoodwinlink.kk5.org/ has changed her life as much as it has the village and it was wonderful to hear all of her stories.
Arriving in Sheffield I caught up with my family and also with British television. It probably made up for all of the television I didn’t watch this year and I now know that some people can get quite excited while watching darts. One afternoon we went to the Butterfly house (a site just outside the city which is a little overrated), another day we were off to Leeds to visit the fascinating Thackray medical history museum and while in the city we had a quick peek in the posh shop of Harvery Nichols, really looking more for celebrities than clothes and then before we left we took my grandma to tour a few art galleries.
It was sad to say good bye to Europe, but sadder yet to say goodbye to my grandmother not knowing if we would ever see her again as she is turning 89 in the fall.
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