Lucky me! Oh happy day! For Troll Father and two of the Troll Children were behind me on the EasyJet flight from Glasgow to Gatwick. One of the Troll Children kicked the back of my seat, put his flip down tray thing up and down and SHOUTED the whole way back. He stopped when he put his hand round the back of my seat and I 'accidentally' leant on it.
At Glasgow, we queued for an hour to check in. Then we had to take our shoes off. There was only one person on security for twelve gates, which obviously made sense. The entire airport smelt of burnt cheese. We flew around a bit. I attempted to crush the eleven year old's hand using the force of my elbow, which nearly worked and certainly shut the little bastard up. At Gatwick they couldn't open the back door of the plane, so we waited and waited, and then waited some more so we could have our photographs taken and be issued with a bit of paper with barcode on. The luggage belt didn't work, but there was a man with the biggest trainers I have ever seen throwing cases around; happily, he threw mine first, so I Legged It and then got caught in another pointless queue for another twenty minutes. Then the train, then the tube, then the bus, and finally home, in five hours. I don't mind the flying bit, but I hate everything else about it.
Flying is FINE if you have A LONG WAY TO GO (or you are going on business, tra la). But if you are going Not That Far, get a train. Read a book, eat apples, write things on your computer thing, look out of the window, have conversations with people giving out tea; swap magazines, ignore your mobile phone, look at rainbows on the East Coast Mainline, have a kip and wake yourself up snoring. Then get off at the other end in the middle of the place you are going to. It seems straightforward enough to me.
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5 comments:
I totally agree with you.
Trains also create a lot more space for the imagination, as you can fantasise about getting off at any station that looks interesting/picturesque/better than where you're going, along the way - though I'm always put off this idea by the thought of excess fare, which probably says a little too much about me.
The other thing you can do, depending if you have a buffet carriage, is gaze longingly at the station cafes as they speed past you backwards.
MUCH more fun than flying!
I am not alone, which is a relief. Thank you. Listen, if you're a style consultant (had a mosey at your profile), can you help me out? I can't find any of my clothes and look weird unless I wear a wrap dress over trousers, but this Limits My Options. Sigh.
Hear, hear on the train issue! LOVE the trains in Europe. And you are so right, if you're not going "far" then for God's sake, take some other form of transpo than a plane.
I'm coming to the UK next month for a visit and would appreciate any thoughts on whether or not I should purchase train tix here or wait until we get there? Going from London to Liverpool to Edinburgh and back to London.
Thanks much! Very much enjoy the blog.
Hello Juliness and Welcome.
I suggest you go here: www.gner.com and order your tickets online. They have insanely cheap deals - you can get to Newcastle First Class for about £20 - and it will come up with a load of different choices. All you need to do is take your credit card and shove it in the machine at the station you're starting at, and put in the code on the email confirmation thing.
Yours ever,
NWM Tourist Office
PS have fun. Been before? It's small, all of it, but good.
You've got a future in the travel industry, my friend.
Most excellent info! Thanks! I've marked the site and will made said purchases shortly.
Yes, I've been to the UK several times and have adored it every visit. Went to school for a semester in Scotland (just outside Glasgow) then spent the following winter in Watford (yeah, I know).
I try and get back every chance I get because, really, what's not to love?
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