Our first night (at the Best Western) was what you would expect: a hotel, and pretty predictable and standard. Lots of people busy with their travel plans, and nothing too personal. But we were on our way, and England was not that far, at least temporally.
Wednesday morning, we were taken to the airport, joined the line of about two hundred fellow travellers, and waited. The wonderful lady from Air Canada came along and asked if there was anyone for London Heathrow, so we got to "jump" the queue, and got through that part of it pretty well. Off through security, and I was stopped because the metal ring on my Tilley shorts set off the alarm. As a consequence, there is a picture of me, in total body scan, somewhere in the RCMP archives. As Dan says, that should convince them not to do that kind of scanning.
Plane was half-full at most, and quite comfortable (surprise!). The trip across was actually not too bad at all, certainly a better way to go than the overnight flight. And arriving in London at 9 PM was just about right.
Unfortunately, our pre-arranged taxi was not there as he was supposed to be. And of course, I was dressed for the 34-degree Toronto weather rather than the 16-degree London weather, so was a bit chilly by the time the taxi finally showed up twenty minutes later. And then the driver decided to try and make up for those twenty minutes by driving like a madman to Dan's house, with me in the front passenger seat clutching the seat cushion, and working to control my anxiety ("He must know what he's doing, he's a taxi driver..."). We got to Dan's about 11, and I went to bed shortly after that.
Next day, after breakfast we walked to the High Street (the commercial street), to get a coffee, and get a Sim card for my phone. Successful on both counts. The street was not as nice as the one near where Dan lived in Putney, but it was fine overall, and we walked back to the apartment satisfied. We were to leave for Manchester that evening, since Dan had to work that day.
You forget (or we forgot) how big London actually is. We ended up taking a cab to the station, and it still took almost an hour to get there, even though both Dan's place and the station are in what could be considered the main part of London. But we got there, got onto the train, and squeezed ourelves into a seat.
(The trains in England have a strange pricing system to me. They charge about three times as much for a "prime-time" ticket, as opposed to one out of this time. And the return ticket is only a pound more than the one-way ticket. So if anyone wants to go one-way from Manchester to London, let me know: I have an extra ticket available for a very good price.)
Our time in Manchester was of course the main reason for being here: Daniel was getting his PhD on Friday, the 22nd of July. We have been so proud of all he has done, and needed to see this wonderful event, capping off his academic career.
It didn't hurt that we also like Manchester a lot as a city. And that it would give us time again to be with Electra, and her mother, Anastasia. We met them at the Palace Hotel, where we were staying as well, and shared a small conversation before settling into our room and bed the night before Dan's Convocation. And we set up a breakfast together with Anastasia (since we get up at least two hours earlier than Dan and Electra do). Dan says it kind of "weirds him out" to think that we might get to know Electra's mother better, but we like her and haven't had a chance to talk with her since Electra's diagnosis of leukemia.
Friday was the big day. After Darlene, Anastasia and I had our long and pretty horrible breakfast at a fast-English-food place, we got back to the hotel, met with Dan and Electra, and went up to the University. Lots of hurry-up-and-wait, Dan lining up to get his gown, then lining up for a picture, then waiting until the time to go into the hall, then waiting for the ceremony to begin. The hall itself - Whitworth Hall - is about 120 years old, quite ornate, and a splendid venue for this ceremony. People of all cultural backgrounds were graduating, and their families were there with miultiple cameras, so lots of activity.
The ceremony itself was as expected, and quite nice. Of course, Dan's part was the best part, and mercifully there were not too many people graduating. And it was over in 90 minutes, then outside for socializing and photos. The sun even came out for the occasion. But it was cool; strange to see people with fall coats on at the end of July.
After some to-and-fro'ing, we decided on a local red meat place for a celebratory supper, and all went off for a good meal before bed.
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Location:Manchester, England
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