UK Journal

What follows is a “journal” of my trip to the United Kingdom in the late summer of 1995. This contains the thoughts that occured to me on the trip, as it happened. I have made NO effort to correct any gramatical or spelling mistakes contained in the document in order to preserve the feeling of freshness about the information.

• Stephen Rice
• Winnipeg, Manitoba September 10, 1995

Today I was in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan and worked for about eight hours. I am looking forward to getting away from that project as I have been away from my home town Winnipeg since last November. I was quite busy and caught the plane to Saskatoon at about 4 o'clock. As is my normal plan, the stop- over in Saskatoon is about two and a half hours so I have supper and attempt to relax.

Saskatoon is an interesting place, far nicer than its nearest competitor in size, Regina about two and a half hours to the south. I find it to be very quiet and relaxed and yet it maintains an interest in that there is always something happening, some sort of festival or something. Quite often Peter, a co-worker from Winnipeg who is helping us out on this project, and I will drive to Saskatoon for a day of the weekend. Walk around downtown, have supper, go to a show, talk a lot. We, of course, use the company car as we feel that they owe us something for staying here so long. For someone who does not drink or smoke, Prince Albert is very boring. The local past time is drinking and, you guessed it, smoking. Here, quite opposite to what seems like the rest of the world is up to, smoking is predominant, restaurants seem to have few, if any, non-smoking areas. Peter and I have long since visited every restaurant in PA (as anyone who has been to, or knows about, Prince Albert calls it) and we have “black listed” about 90% of them, which leaves very few to choose from, mostly we stick to the chains as they are most reliable. Peter has taken to crossing off the restaurants that we have black-listed so that future users of our hotel rooms can benefit from our culinary excellence.

As I proceed through the security checkpoint to the gate, I regard this with dull interest as this has been my life for most of the last year. I have received “President's Club” membership with Canadian Airlines (a frequent flyer program that requires members to travel more than 25 flights before qualifying), a dubious honor in the torture that earned me this benefit. Every two weeks they send me back to Winnipeg for the weekend, three days, from Friday night to Tuesday morning. Tuesday's coming back from Winnipeg are the worst as the flights leave at seven in the morning which means I have to get up at about five. My involvement in the FreeNet movement in Winnipeg (an organization that seeks to provide free, community access to all citizens of Manitoba) dictates that my Monday nights are spent chairing the Technical Operations Committee meetings from about 7:00 pm to about 11:00 pm. This last week was even worse, because of my holidays and my taking Friday off to be in Toronto, I was sent back on Monday morning instead of Tuesday. From Friday night when I left on Monday I was running around with meetings one after the other for the FreeNet (Technical Operations was Sunday night instead of the normal Monday). I think they finally realized that I would not be around for a few weeks and wanted to soak me dry before I left. I don't know how much FreeNet work I will be able to do from England/Scotland…

Well, as I am waiting for the flight, the monotany grows so I turn on my laptop computer and start typing up the minutes for a Technical Operations Committee meeting a few weeks ago. This laptop is wonderful and yet a curse at the same time. I would not be without it, but with it my life has been so much busier. No longer do I have the excuse “there is no computer where I am so I can't help you” for work so they call on me to perform many tasks. Most of which, I will admit, date back to before I left. It seems that a lot of the jobs they give me at Online seem to last for a many years. A couple of the projects I have even now are two years old. It is not that my work is inferior it is just that they have come to rely on my ability to add functionality and provide quick turn-around for their requirements. The computer was a “gift” from work that I initially paid for but work gave to me after my last employee review earlier this year. I think they felt guilty. Not that I am ignoring this, I am milking this for all its worth. We all are, that is, those of us from Online that are working for Weyerhaeuser here in Prince Albert. We deserve it. We are the only contractors from Online that are away from the office. Even at our newly-opened branch office in Minneapolis there are a number of people there and a permanent presence has been established. Here, at the hotel, permanence means nothing. I miss my house and my sisters in Winnipeg. It is not as nice as I thought it would be to have someone clean your room every day and eat out all of the time. I don't know what I will do when I return to Winnipeg, maybe eat out more?

As I am pounding away on the rather flimsy keyboard on my laptop I get so involved I do not notice that an hour has passed beyond when we are supposed to leave. This startles me so I quickly get to a phone, hoping to catch my sister coming to pick me up before she leaves for the airport. The plane ride from Saskatoon to Winnipeg is about an hour and fifteen minutes long. I feel dread when the voice mail kicks in knowing that she has already left. I really appreciate her picking me up every time I come in to Winnipeg and, even more, her dropping me off on Tuesday mornings at 6:00 am. She is a good person and I miss her a lot being out in Prince Albert, there is not a lot to do when you are only in Winnipeg for three days out of fourteen. I do make an effort to take her out to eat at least once, her favourite (and mine) is Dim- Sum so we make a lunch out of it on Sunday. I like to know what is happening with her and sending her electronic mail just is not the same. She has really taken to the FreeNet. When she first got her account, she was using the computer system for about three hours a night, now, with her new boyfriend she has less time, but our roommate, Lisa, still uses the FreeNet for long periods of time late at night. They have discovered the 'chat' feature and seem to want to always put it through it's paces, talking to people from all around the world.

I finally board the plane and spend the time aboard basically brooding and thinking about what is ahead. I arrive in Winnipeg about an hour later than normal, walking down the steps I experience a slight hesitation as I do not see Karin's smiling face which normally greets me at the bottom of the stairs. Gruggingly, I get my luggage and ponder my next move. After calling home to see if she is there and getting no answer, I decide to wait it out. If she does not show up in about 15 minutes, I figure, I will grab a taxi. Taxi's seem to have this “doctor pay schedule” aspect to their business that I think few people have stopped to think about. They make MORE than a doctor does in an hour, mind you, finding a passenger for all of the sixty minutes is not as easy as finding a patient. In Winnipeg, taxi's charge for waiting time in addition to distance travelled which makes rush hour take on a whole new sence of urgency.

After waiting a few minutes, Karin arrives and is quite upset. It appears that she was to have been going out tonight but my late arrival has put a crimp in her plans. I knew this would happen and I feel guilty for having caused her any problems. Her attitude on the way home is terse, it seems she has had a bad day. She gets in these moods every once in a while, but she never gets angry. Something I am envious of. I have always been very aware of how quick I can sometimes get angry and I have tried to control it or avoid the circumstances in which this can happen. Not much luck, I am afraid.

After getting home, the race begins to prepare for my flight tomorrow to Toronto. I have always liked running around downtown Toronto, there are a few discount computer stores (with some very interesting parts) and science fiction bookstores that I like to frequent. I refer to this wandering around downtown as my “regular route” as I like to visit the same shops all the time, they always have something different and interesting. Because of this, and the fact that the CNE starts on Friday, I have decided to spend overnight in Toronto. Where I will stay is another question, I have a ticket to a musical that starts at 8:00 and I should not count on being out before 10:00 or even 11:00 so I think that I cannot stay with my grandfather, who lives out about an hour away from downtown (by car), because I do not want to put him out in any way. I feel guilty about this though, I like to spend time talking to him, he has so few people to talk to now and besides, I love him too much.

I am happy to see that my parcel containing the various adaptors for phone and power have arrived so I can use my laptop in England. I was worried that they would not arrive and that I would be stranded without electronics in a foreign land (sounds like a movie, doesn't it?). I want to see that everything is being taken care of on the FreeNet, so I connect and spend the next two and a half hours, between doing my laundry for the trip, responding and sending electronic mail to ensure that the normal operation of the FreeNet is handled while I am away. On average, I get about 50 electronic mail messages a day. Some might argue that this is not a lot of mail but my answer to them is that every one of these messages requires my personal response. I have, over the last year and a half with the FreeNet, always tried to ensure that the issues in any message are dealt with before I remove it from my “Inbox”. This is made more difficult as I have to explain to people that I am going away and that they are going to half to took to others for this same support. When I turn off the computer at 2:00 in the morning I know there are some things that have not been addressed and I resolve that when I am in Toronto I will connect and deal with the day's messages as they arrive. An interesting side note is that, in my involvement with the FreeNet, I have obtained the ability to connect to the FreeNet from anywhere in Canada without long distance, or any charges. This comes in very handy when I am working on the FreeNet from my hotel room in Prince Albert for three hours a day. Not paying for it is also a benefit as I can only use the FreeNet at a very slow rate of speed using the hotel's phone lines. I don't complain about that.

I finish packing and the day's normal dosage of worrying so I get to bed at about 2:30 (closer to three). The next day is an early one, I have to be at the airport for a 7:45 am flight (that's 45 minutes later than my normal morning flight to Saskatoon).

The next day I wake up, have my normal shower, get dressed, wake up my sister who is sleeping on the couch as she normally uses my room (remember the room- mate I mentioned earlier? She has taken over Karin's old room. Karin is looking forward to having her own room so we are working on moving my office into the basement, with the cat litter, so she can use my office space). She is not all that happy in the morning, neither am I. We are both short with each other as I drive to the airport. Neither of us are morning people. It is raining as we drive to the airport, neither of us know when it started, Karin said that it must have started after she got home at 4:30 so it can't have been raining for long. I give her a hug before she leaves and I proceed into the terminal.

It is nice that the flight leaves on time today after yesterday's problems. I have noticed, not entirely with suprise, that the meals they give you on a trip to Toronto are a lot different than the cold, boxed, meals they give you going to Saskatoon. Funny, the same number of people are on both flights, but I suppose they have to have priorities. I was hoping to get a few letters written on the plane on the way to Toronto but I feel that using a computer on a plane is a bit ostentatious. Nothing iritates me more than someone sitting there, as if they did not have anything better to do, than type away on the little technilogical demon on their lap. I prefer, instead, to partake of the somewhat meager rations and read a few magazines that I inevitably bring with me on all such trips.

At this point, I start to wonder about how I will find a hotel for today in Toronto, I decide that it has to be near-ish to the airport, as I will be leaving tomorrow afternoon and I don't want to be hit with a huge taxi bill, it has to be near to a subway line so I can just jump on the subway to go downtown as often as I wish and it has to be cheap. Cheap is the big one. I don't want to load my credit cards (or my bank) with a lot of charges before I am actually in England. I have made sure that the two credit cards they have in Enland are very close to being entirely paid off. I decide to call the auto club and have them worry about it. I pick up my luggage from the carosel and talk with a CAA agent for about 15 minutes on the phone before it is determined that they have a place just a short distance from the airport and five minutes from the subway so I get them to send me their complimentary shuttle service and let them ferry me to the hotel. The hotel is much like any other hotel I have been in over the past few years, basic, color tv, coffee maker, big bed, not enough towels, cold as heck since they always turn the air conditioning on full blast. I don't really blame them though, in Toronto it is 27 degrees Celcius when I arrive and humid as only southern Ontario can be.

Shortly after throwing my bags in my room, I head off to downtown. I have to get money exchanged for the trip so I will have to get to my bank before it closes and it is already noon. I catch a bus outside the hotel which quickly gets me to the subways station and I catch a subway to downtown (mind you, there is not much choice, I am at the last station on the line, there is only one direction you can go!). The neat thing about the whole process is that, in all, I paid only once and never had to show a transfer to any transit operator, I just walked to my connecting subways/buses without any problems whatsoever. They have done a good job on the subway, it is unfortunate that that accident occured only a week before. It has not seemed to effect the number of riders though, the subway is as busy as it normally is.

After some confusion as to what 200 pounds actually is (she gave me 400) I head off to the CNE, again, using the transit system, I quickly get to Union Station, downtown and hop onto a bus that travels along the lake directly to the CNE (actually, to Ontario Place, which is accross the “street”, ok, “highway”). The CNE is expensive this year, but perhaps that is my imagination, $9 is a lot of money to me for something like this. But then, who can say? There are a LOT of kids at the Ex this year, at the ticket booth they run around with their parents just trying to stay cool in shade, unmoving, except for the ocassional shuffle forward as the line progresses into the grounds.

I hadn't really planned what I would do at the CNE so I decide to work my way from the far east side, near the Princess Gate, where the Multi-Cultural fair has been set up, basically, stores from all around the world in little booths, to the far west side, or at least, as far as the various buildings progress. The midway seems a little smaller this year, though there is a good lucking roller coaster, one that goes upside down with the nylon wheels holding it to the track, that did look interesting. But, I figured with the show starting at 8:00 I needed to leave the Ex at 5:00 to ensure that I made it back to the hotel to change (into “evening wear”) and pick up my ticket (VERY important for things like this!) so I left the rollar coaster. The multi-cultural stuff was quite interesting and I noticed some people playing with “packet radio” which was quite interesting to me (they use CB and short- wave technology to connect computers together) though it seemd quite odd that they would be located in such a building.

Next, I made my way through the midway to the “Shoppers Market” and the horse show, though, with my allergies I knew that would be a short stop. I stopped for a few minutes and watched the final minutes of one event at the horse show, to rest my legs other than to watch the show – I was not alone in this feeling. It has always struck me that those people at the horse show at the Ex basically are there to sit down and turn off their brains, not saying that many brains are required to watch a horse show it is just that it seems to be shame that people do not listen and watch carefully, there has to be something to learn here.

I next proceed to the cras Shoppers Market, which succeeds in my pre-assessed disappointment. It looks they had all of K-Tel's old stock as well as some new garbage…er…stuff to sell. That was over quickly enough and I proceeded to my favourite pavillion there, the food building. This is amazing in that you can try different food from many different cultures for such a low price. I ate my way through Africa and Germany and washed it down with Texas. I also picked up some honey for my sister, I still feel guilty about last night and she has been so good and helpful to me in the past eight months. It is good to know that my house is being taken care of and that she is enjoying it well enough. I will have to get her something more substantial in England for her efforts. I don't mind spending money on her as she is very grateful and never asks for anything. She is a nice person, it is easy to spend money on her. She is off to Toronto at the end of the month, I mentioned that I would pay her way if she stuck around Winnipeg so I got her a ticket last week. I don't really think she should visit “home” in Ontario as Winnipeg is MUCH better for her. The small city atmosphere of Owen Sound is so limiting for her, she is so young, her horizons need to be expanded.

A number of smaller buildings I quickly go through, lingering briefly at a computer shop in the Better Living building before passing through. I am pretty much beat and I see that the National Film Board is showing it's animation festival accross the street, so I step into their air-conditioned theater and watch old favorites for an hour. After this, of course, I need to hurry if I want to make it to the theatre in time, not having exact change at the entrance to the buses does not help matters, and I refuse to give them $5 when the fare is only $2. I make it back to the hotel in time to whip on my “nice” clothes, forgetting about my white socks until I am just about at the bus stop whereupon I run back and change those too. I make it to the show about 5 minutes before it starts (I am, of course, panting from over-exersion).

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat was quite good with Donny Osmond. Though, I did expect it to follow the vocalizations and child-like nature of the album. This was the first time I had been in the O'Keefe Centre. It is not too bad and reminded be a lot of the Centential Concert Hall in Winnipeg, perhaps it is even a bit smaller! The musical is over early, 10:00 pm, so I grab the subway home, very consious that I am wearing slacks and a dress shirt on a train full of people wearing clothing that is MUCH more comfortable in the 25 degree heat.

At night, as promised, I connect to the FreeNet and deal with the day's emergencies as well as my mail. The president is not using the system, which is odd since we normally talk to each other on the system at about midnight. I get to bed at about 1:30, early for me compared to the last few weeks.

The next morning, I have refused to set my alarm so I wake up, semi-consious, at about 9:30 and for the next 2 hours refuse to get out of bed, I finally get out of bed, shower and change. I decide that I will drop my luggage off at the front desk and return later on my way to the airport. This is kind of handy since I think that it would be…bad…to have to carry my rather heavy luggage with me all around downtown.

I make my normal rounds of downtown noting that in getting there I passed through the subway station where three people died, I did not notice anything there but I did notice that throughout today and yesterday the drivers had been very careful, slowing down a lot more and more often. Sushi for lunch, which is interesting in that I had never had sushi before, I had Sushimi, which is raw fish, plain, with dipping sauce but never sushi. It was, of course, very good and enjoyable. Even the location was interesting, downtown on Queen street, quite an exclusive (read: expensive) place for that area.

I get back to the hotel and proceed with the shuttle to the airport after some tangle with people that do not know how to drive in the hotel parking lot (the drivers words not mine). I REALLY hate terminal one at the Toronto Airport, it is always busy and, seemingly, disorganized. As I am waiting in the line for my carrier to Glasgow, a representative points me to another line around the corner in which I wait for about 45 minutes in line. I am suprised that I am given a window seat. But, then I notice, that there are 11 (I guess) seats accross as I am given seat K. That MUST be a big plane. Then, I drop my purchases off at a storage facility in the basement (fighting my way through the arrival crowd at the elevators) so I don't have to carry them around with me to all places in England.

I find a really neat phone and proceed to make calls from my own little booth to my grandmother, my sister and my grandfather. I also try to reach my mother but I know that she was away at a camp for the last week and would not be there. As I am talking to my grandfather, she shows up there and so I talk with her for about 20 minutes. I really don't want to see my phone bill when it arrives. Something tells me that it will stop my heart for a few seconds.

We then board the aircraft, you can feel the excitment in the lounge, everyone is looking forward to being in England. It seems that the large majority of the passengers are English and this is interesting in that it seems Canada is doing better for tourism recently.

I am stuck beside two children who seem to have trouble with social graces (not that I am any great charmer) and in front of a lady who proceeds to ramble on in a LOUD voice about her worries that they will not shut the cargo door which is open. To my further embarisment, she is going to the World Science Fiction Convention just as I am and she was in the one in Winnipeg last year, as was I.

The flight is a long one but not that bad. I am disappointed that we travel over Canada and the ocean in darkness. I wanted to see the Atlantic, which I had never seen, having been no further east than Hull, Quebec, accross the St. Lawerence from Ottawa. They feed us the complimentary meal (one choice only) and give us headsets (at $2 a shot) and show a movie (with the person in front of me having his head planted squarely in the middle of the screen) and, just before arrival in Glasgow, a “continental breakfast”. Continental breakfasts have always striked me as being “let's put the MINIMAL amount of stuff on a plate, that we do NOT have to go to any trouble to make, and feed it to them, calling it 'continental' in the faint delusional hope that somehow the unsuspecting diner will be fooled into thinking that this was something that is special”. This “continental breakfast” was NO exception to this rule and actually sunk to lower depths for what is actally provided, in this case, a store-bought, twinkie-class, “croissant” (it was shaped like a crescent, but that is where the similarity between it and a REAL croissant stopped) and a few token assundries that struck me outstanding as in not at all since I cannot even remember what they were.

Shortly thereafter, we landed in Glasgow. Nice looking airport, very new looking, VERY busy, especially where we come out. Interesting to note that we did not have to go through any customs (bag) checking at all, just passport service. As I wondered around aimlessly I realized that I could call the car rental agency but did not have any change with which to do so, so I proceeded to the currency exhange and got change and proceeded to play with the first telephone I had ever used in England. Not an entirely pleasent experience, charging for the call based on how long you use it…gee, sounds like capitalism to me!

I finally catch the shuttle to the car rental agency and pick up my car, much suprised to find out that no insurance was on the car and that I would have to shell out 100 pounds more for it. GASP! All in all, not a good day for my VISA so far… So, anyway, they shove me in this Ford Festiva and send me on my way, though, problem is, I don't know where “my way” is…I just thought I would go where the spirit moves me, so I turn in an arbitrary direction and start driving trying to get the feeling of traveling on the “wrong” side of the road. Shortly, I realize that I have come full circle and I am back at the airport! Anyway, I decide to head up to Inverness, over the Scottish highlands and beside the Loch Ness. Keep in mind that this is after a six hour flight. Perhaps I was just out of my mind… Anyway, the first thing that strikes me about British drivers is that they are VERY fast. The road is busy winding around, up, down, sideways, backwards (you should SEE the signs) and the drivers are proceeding at 60-70 mph along it! I saw a couple of people that passed me that must have been going 80. REALLY difficult when you are still trying to get the hang of shifting with the right hand and driving on the “wrong” side of the road. I suppose it was also not to smart to drive right after the flight, I think I was just too excited.

The scottish country-side is beautiful. The highlands were quite inspiring, especially when, as I stopped, a bagpiper started playing, albeit not exactly scottish in nature, playing nonetheless. It was VERY quiet there (except of course for the occasional interludes by the aforementioned piper) and it took me by suprise. I had not realized that there would be mountains, not silly “highlands” stuff, MOUNTAINS, here. The loch's are also very nice, hard to imagine that not 20 meters out it is 700 feet deep. That is very deep. Once in Inverness, the task was to find a place to stay, I have a guide that let me know that there was this nice place at such-and-such but, problem being, no map was provided. I will HAVE to get some maps for the various cities I would like to stay at. I eventually found it, after having attempted three times to find it (in the process, seeing much of Inverness) and finally talking to a policeman. After getting there, the place was full, so they pointed me accross the street, which was also full, so they pointed me around the corner. I was afraid to try the place they indicated so I went accross the street and found this place. Not all THAT clean, but it is 12 pounds a night (a STEAL around here, let me tell you!) and I do have my own shower. The bathroom, of which my mother has always said is a good indicator of how clean a place is, is quite clean which will, of course, make my mother happy (they worry about things like this).

I no sooner shuffled my things around then I layed down and fell asleep. At 1:30 in the afternoon. I woke up a bit later and started typing as you see (after having worried about being towed since the place I parked in is “No Parking”, don't know what that means on a Sunday). It is good to see that my power adapter is working. I won't today have an oportunity to try out the phone adapter as I do not have a phone, but perhaps that is for the best.

It is now midnight (here) and I hope to be up before 8 so I had better nod off.

After getting up this morning I hoped to have a shower using the shower located in my room. My “room”, by the way more closely resembled a closet in that it was small, about eight by eight feet, cluttered, a bed (VERY small, are all Europeans 5 feet in height?), a sink, a chest of drawers, a shower stall, a “closet” (VERY small, see a pattern?), and a stool, hot, with no air conditioning (which I know that I should NOT expect) and circulation, but perhaps, here is where the simularity ends, it was not dark. After following the owners directions to pull the cord dangling from the ceiling in the shower stall and standing there for about five minutes waiting for the water to start I decided that this was not going to work so I pulled on some clothes and proceeded to the washroom (in our terminology) on the floor and used the shower there. It was very good to have a shower and clean up after not having done so for the past day and a half due to the flight. Not having a shower in the morning always makes me feel as though I am dirty and does not improve my early morning temper.

Breakfast was quite good, I know I am to expect it, but a little on the greasy side, with the only fruit or vegtable coming from the grapefruit juice on the side. A little odd with two different meats, well, three if you count the eggs. I did entirely enjoy the bacon which is of the peameal variety that I remember back in Ontario from my youth, or “Canadian Back-Bacon” as it is known, though, minus the corn meal but good nonetheless.

After having read the guidebook that so thoroughly got me lost looking for a bed and breakfast the night before I decided to once again trust it's wisdom and try a recommended tour of Loch Ness and Inverness. Who would have thought that it would be so difficult to find a parking spot downtown in a city of 63,000 people? It is not easy when you do not have a map but eventually, by luck most likely, have having explored most of the southern half of the city, I came accross the bus station which the also had, laughingly called, “Downtown Parking” where I could park for longer than the 60 minutes I had seen elsewhere. I say laughingly because it took me about five minutes to walk, at a brisk pace, to downtown again. By this time the tourist office was open (did I mention that the first time I tried it wasn't?) and I immediately inquired about the tour I knew from my book that was second to none. Sold out, of course, so I tried my runner up, after having looked at all of the posters and liking what I saw about a few, this too was sold out. A little while later I realized that the only tour I could find for half a day (after all, I did not know that I wanted to spend the whole day on a tour) was one of those “tourist traps” that the guide book pointed out as being something to avoid.

Perhaps we in North America have a different definition of “tourist trap”, the specific examples I think of are places like Niagara Falls where you can buy thirty cent trinkets for thirty dollars and regret it the moment you take a good look at it when you get it home. In North America, tourist traps are easy to spot, just look for cheesy advertising and a lot of smiling people willing to take you money and leave you holding an empty wallet, still smiling, of course. Here, well, what can I say, I thoroughly enjoyed the tour with the one noteable cheesy aspect, that being our stop at the “Loch Ness Monster Center” (or some such thing) which was interesting in that, again, unlike North America, this was actually a scientific and interesting 45 minutes, describing the various technology they have used to peer into the merky depths of the Loch. This tour also included a bit of a boat ride which was interesting to see the coffee-color of the water (the tour guides words, not mine) because of the peat. It was also weird to think that you were about 600 feet above the bottom of the Loch at some parts. One interesting tidbit I did pick up was that the Loch contains more water than all of the other water in Britain, Scotland and Ireland combined. That is something else considering the Loch is 23 miles long and 1 mile wide in some areas. That is a lot of water. Though, I understand there is a drought in southern Britain right now, I wonder if I should stock up on water before I get there?

After my tour, I did a bit of shopping downtown Inverness, it is interesting how some things are so different yet the same, local electronics shop, bargain shop, clothing, newspaper stand, etc., etc. The same as any other city, odd to think that I am so far from home. But not frightening to me, just interesting.

On my trip back to the car (I TOLD you that it was a ways away) I stopped at the “largest second-hand bookstore in Scotland”, if this was the largest, then Scotland is a lot smaller than I thought. An interesting location in that they had a large selection of “maps” and other hand-painted pictures pulled out of old books and mounted in picture matting. All pieces were guaranteed to be at least 100 years old. That does not mean a lot here, obviously. Old is something at least 1000 years old. You can tell by looking around, all of the houses are VERY old, newer areas are few and far between. Even the row housing is SO old and DIRTY, black soot or whatever graces all that is old, but perhaps that adds to the charm.

After that I foolishly decided to go to Aberdeen, which, it was indicated, was about an hour and a half trip via the scenic route. I am barely getting use to driving and I have already had a few close calls at roundabouts which I am now only beginning to understand, it is an interesting way to avoid putting in traffic lights, makes me wonder why we do not see them in North America, but perhaps I do see it…Here, while it is true that they all drive like they are possessed, they are CAREFULLY possessed, no close calls, no honking of horns, just quick, accurate driving on the smallest roads I have ever seen, while in North America, people travel a bit slower and do not seem to have ever grasped the more intricate aspects of driving such as the use of a brake pedal. The cars are MUCH smaller and fascinate me as they are so different. I am driving a Ford Fiesta but it is VERY different from the car of the same name in Canada. A lot of foreign cars here, you get mostly cars like Peugeot, Ford, with the occasional Mercedes, Volvo or other more exotic cars. But even these “larger” more luxurious cars are small by our standards. Take the Volvos I see, in Canada a Volvo is a monster of a car, a luxury car and not afraid to show it in size, here it is a small car (ok, a bit bigger than my Fiesta, but not that much) comparable to a Volkswagen Fox in North America (smaller though, of course). It is also very odd to see Citreon cars so in use here. We hear NOTHING about them in Canada but here they are all over the place and with new, as in this year, models being used. I thought the company had died some time ago.

Well, as I was saying, I decided to make a go of Aberdeen, once I got there I thought that I would just look for a “B & B” sign, of which I had seen many while travelling on the highway there. This was a bad idea, as I teared with the madmen drivers through the city, there was no such sign to been seen, I was kind of afraid to get off of the main route for fear of getting lost (no small fear, let me tell you) so perhaps it is my fault. That is one thing that really gets me upset. I have a noticable lack of maps for any of the cities that I am traveling through, so knowing that a restaurant is at 123 Front Street does not help when Front Street is a complete mystery to me and no where to be obviously found.

Anyway, after I left the city, much to my suprise, I was proceeding along a farmer's road along the ocean. It was quite suprising and yet nice at the same time. Quite startling. I quickly was on a “dual carriageway” (a four lane divided highway) going at 70 mph again though. I got sick of this pretty quickly and avowed to turn off and stop at the first hotel off the highway, which happens to be this one. You heard it here first: I swear that on this trip I will NEVER, EVER stop at a hotel again. B & B are SO much in terms of atmosphere, price and people. The hotel is sparten by North American standards (remember, you are listening to someone that KNOWS what a hotel is after having lived in one for so long) and not really worth the EXTRORDINARY amount of money they charged me. Thank goodness they through in a free breakfast. It is also bad in that, after having paid that money, there is no air conditioning, no remote for the TV, same small beds, etc., etc. To top it all off they have put me outside the kitchen so the smells coming in through the windows harken to the menu of greese and the like inside (they have a bar too). I will have to find a place before I leave tomorrow and stay there.

An interesting note is that while I was looking for a place in Aberdeen I was quite suprised, and upset, to find that Aberdeen was not listed in the index of my tour book. Undaunted, I looked up Stonehaven, where I am staying now, and, low and behold, I found Aberdeen in big, bold letters on the page before. Perhaps I should drop them a note about the accuracy of their index…

Tomorrow, I will, perhaps, make it to Edinborough, my mother wants me to go to the Highland Festival, perhaps I will stay there. Though, this is pretty much up in the air now. It is interesting to be able to stop wherever you want, today it was as much of a choice as “I need to stop and get off of this road of maniacs” so no real choice was involved.

You might ask “Where the heck is Pittenween? I thought that he said he was going to Edinborough, much bigger and MUCH easier to say?”. Well, it is a… story (not a long one, to be sure, but a story nonetheless).

After the disappointment of yesterday being stuck in that hotel in Stonehaven, I was determined to make today better and it looked like providence was also lending her hand in this endeavour. I got up at my normal 8:00 am time that I am forcing myself into and went down for my breakfast that came with the room (if it hadn't there would have been much knashing of teeth). The meal was a VERY good one with something they call 'black pudding' which was described to me as a meat mixture of unknown origin. Not too bad, if a little bland. The lady serving gave me a look of discuss as she admitted hating the stuff.

I left shortly thereafter and determined that I would NOT take the main high- way but instead take my chances on the 'tourist', or coastal route. This turned out to be a good choice, besides, not too often you get to see the ocean, especially that one. Anyway, only a short distance along I noticed a sign for a castle so I followed the signs off of the road (NOT highway, thank goodness) and was a bit aprehensive as the sign seemed to point at a farm house, pretty big and hold but hardly a castle. After turning into the parking lot ('car park' over here) I noticed in the distance, on the edge of a cliff the castle of which no mistake could be made. Feeling better, I got out and started walking to the castle to be completely taken by suprise as I got closer. The castle was situated on a, for lack of a better term, island, connected to the mainland but about 150 feet above the ocean (did I mention that it was on the ocean where I stopped?). Well after doing the generally touristy thing of snapping a few shots when completely taken by suprise (actually, most of the time I see exactly the opposite, people taking pictures of mundane things, such as “Oh, a pretty rock, better get a picture. Oh, litter on the ground.” etc., etc.).

It is hard to imagine that such structures were built so long ago, at least, in terms of construction. In terms of it's ease of use and cleanliness, there is no doubt… Quite a good view from up there. It was good to see the ocean, I have always enjoyed the water. This water, in particular, was quite a nice shade of blue. There was, of course, a cost to getting in but that did not bother me, after all, how often will I get here? I suppose, that philosophy is true but then I do have other, more practical concerns, foremost among them being whether or not I have enough money to keep saying “How often will I get here?”. Note that I do NOT preface that with the fact that I will run out of money for good, that is not a worry that I have, that is why I have my credit cards with me, to take care of those purchases I do not have money for right now. I know that I will be unable to pay off this trip any time soon, but this too, does not disturb me. More money will follow, after all, I still have the trump card of me being in Prince Albert to use…Tracey, a co-worker just attempted to get a raise in exchange for staying in PA but the only answer she got from our boss was “Talking with you leaves a bad taste in my mouth” (paraphrased, the bit about “bad taste” is right though). This is not a good sign if I would like a raise but it is also true that she asked the wrong person, though I hardly feel that his response was really a professional one, perhaps “Go talk to so-and-so” would have been better. I think that it is also true that they can give us all of the immediate demands (computer, vacation, etc.) as they cost so little to them, but a pay raise demands a much more long-term financial committment (and a much more substantial one).

Anyway, I left the castle feeling a lot better, if not tired, it was a LONG walk there and back, up and down the cliffs. I headed out following the twisting road trying not to run myself or other drivers off of the road. I have been attempting to keep up with the other drivers so I do not pose a traffic risk but this may be, perhaps, in vain as they travel WAY faster then they are supposed to. The roads are so narrow, driving is quite a challenge, if not exciting. I tend to yell out whoops of joy on some, faster, corners as I barely avoid careening off into some farmers field. Today that might have been worse considering the road was very close to the cliffs down to the ocean, but I am keeping pretty much on top of it (the road I mean).

On reaching Dundee and attempting to follow the highway through the city I decided I would not mind stopping and looking around so I found a parking spot right at the harbour (it is VERY difficult parking here, EVERYONE has a car, I have also noticed that they will park anywhere humanly possible. I have been travelling down this back lane with walls on either side of impossibly thin lanes and had a car parked in my lane with oncoming traffic, it is these circumstances that one closes ones eyes, aims, and prays (hopefully not in that order). It has worked so far). Anyway, as I was saying, after I dumped the car, figured out yet another parking ticket dispenser (that is, a ticket for time, NOT a parking ticket) I followed where everyone else was going which turned out to be a pedestrian mall. We should use this example in North America much more than it is used now. It really pulls the city together, this mall was VERY busy, all outside, and very enjoyable. Found my typical English lunch, fish and chips, and made it back just in time for my time to run out on my parking ticket.

As I was leaving, I was suprised to discover that I was to pay a toll to cross a bridge over the “Firth” that was there, almost $1.50, that was unexpected but certainly worth it, nice view, nice bridge and quick too (ok, maybe it wasn't but who am I to argue?). Anyway, I continued on and passed through St. Andrew's, most likely one of the oldest cities I have seen to date, with a castle (or somesuch) located in the middle of it. Interesting to see people walking along the sidewalks past it without really noticing the monstrocity beside which they stand. Mind you, they are probably more worried about the sidewalk itself as most sidewalks around here are barely a meter wide. This makes it VERY interesting. I don't think they had cars in mind when they made those streets though…

After leaving St. Andrews I figured that I would forgo going to Edinborough as I read that during the Edinburugh festival (on right now) that it was next to impossible to find any accomodation in the city (forget about B & Bs, that is IMPOSSIBLE), so I decided to stop in any little place that had a B & B along the way and stay there, all of the cities are on the ocean and were quite small so I figured it would be a nice change. So I did, and here I am in Pittenween, just outside of the Firth of Fourth (you would not imagine how much fun I had with that name in the car…Fourth of Firth of Firth of Fourth, etc…sigh, it would be nice to have some tapes or something to listen to, the radio just doesn't cut it, talk shows about tracters, etc.).

Anyway, I got in relatively early so I just laid down (I did a LOT of walking today) and read some of the numerous magazines that I have aquired over the past week. Everytime I go into a book store I see magazines that I KNOW some of the guys working on the FreeNet would like to see so I grab them. Who cares if they pay me back? Those guys have given so much to Blue Sky that I owe them far more than this, even personally. The FreeNet has really done a lot for me. The technology is as writ, but the companionship and even friendship I have with many of the people is invaluable to me. Something I really did not have before. Anyway, so Christmas will come early for some guys on my committee this year. I still feel guilty that I have not found something for Karin, I will find something soon I am sure, perhaps Harrod's in London? Who knows.

Tomorrow I head into Glasgow to claim my bed at the University of Glasgow in preparation for the Convention which starts on Thursday. I was leafing through the Sunday Times Entertainment section (which I kept from a couple of days ago) and noticed that one of the stars of a british show I REALLY like will be in Glasgow for the Convention covering it for the BBC, I am REALLY upset that I did not bring any of those books…oh, well, I suppose I will have to purchase copies here to have signed. Small price though, to get an autograph. It will be really interesting to meet him though.

Well, I am finally here, a little worse for wear but here nonetheless. I got up fairly early this morning sneaking around the house at which I stayed hoping not to wake anyone. The breakfast was very good, although very filling. I don't know if I could stand fried eggs, MANY slices of toast, orange juice, tea/coffee, three different kinds of meat (all fried) and cereal. The tea I could do without though I didn't have the heart to leave it so I swallowed my pride and drank it anyway.

Had a good talk with the couple just before I left and they seemed quite pleased that I was taking in some shows in London (or so I am planning). Then I was on the road again.

I have noticed a few things in my last few days of travel, all the cars look brand new. There are no “klunkers” or other lesser vehicles on the road. All the cars are smaller (as I noted before) and come from different manufacturers than in North America (I still have a tough time with Volvo trucks, I am so used to them being luxury car manufacturers). There is little, if any, garbage along side the road, or anywhere for that matter. Recyling is VERY popular and can be found everywhere. I think that this might have something to do with the fact that there are so many people and so many cars, having it any other way would be unbearable. Perhaps we just don't feel responsible enough with our country…

On the way here I passed through a larger city that I noticed had about six nuclear power stacks in the middle of downtown. This took me for a start. I did not really expect that sort of thing downtown. Gives a whole new meaning to “the nuclear family”.

Well, drivers in Glasgow are just as rude as anywhere else in the world. They drive quickly, all over the place with little regard to signals, signs or other logical markings. I am glad, in a way, that I had the experience on the road that I did it prepared me to react in the “UK manner” as opposed to when I just got off the plane which was the “let's hope I don't hit anything manner”.

I found the Convention Centre that this is being run in. It is quite large and fairly nice. A lot bigger then the Winnipeg Convention Centre and a lot better organized, one hall with all other halls leading off to the sides. There was a bit of a mix-up with my membership, they seemed to think that I was a supporting member instead of an attending member. I pointed out to them that I WAS an attending member as I was sitting there talking to them so they pushed some papers around, humed, and hahed, then had me fill out some more papers and I was finally here, as in, attending.

I also found the University dormatory that I am staying in. Parking will be interesting as there is no parking for the dormatory and all parking around it is one hour meter parking, except before 8:45 am and after 5:30 pm. It should be interesting. I found this parking spot, free, about 10 minutes from the building so I think that I will stick with that. I was quite suprised driving around some of the back streets around here, I bet that some of them are on a 45 degree angle. It made it VERY interesting in the standard to park on them. I don't think I would be able to park my car from Winnipeg on them as my emergency break does not work. It would be…exciting, to say the least.

Anyway, everything is ok to go on a tour of Glasgow tomorrow, I cancelled the tour of Edinborough on Friday as I have a lot I want to see at the convention. I am hoping to get to the Edinborough Tatoo (lots of pipers in a semi- enclosed space) one night this week (or over the weekend) but no firm plans yet. I will just have to take it one day at a time.

I am disappointed that they do not have phones in the rooms here, but I think that would be too much to ask, how would the regulate their usage? I was hoping to get my computer hooked up to the Internet here but that is probably out (though I could probably hot-wire one of the “incoming-calls only” phones on each floor). I noticed with great interest that they have an Internet lab at the convention so perhaps I will be able to steal a couple of hours on a machine when no one is looking. I am planning on attending a few very interesting talks at the convention. Again, there are a lot of scientific talks, some are even science-fictionish. A couple look very interesting having to do with issues of copyright in the age of computers and legal issues having to do with the Internet (one a sub-set of the other, can you guess which?).

I noticed that a couple of my favourite authors are here and I am pleased that I brought a book for one of them to sign. It should be interesting.

The BBC are covering the convention, they are sending up (Glasgow is north of London) one of the stars of a science fiction show I enjoy of theirs. I hope to see that guy and get his autograph but who knows… I think this will be one of those “let's go see what those SF weirdos are doing” articles. Too bad, they are missing the point, it seems to me.

Next year the convention is in Los Angeles, it looks like I am heading down south for it then…I guess I will just wait to get tickets though. I think I should make a regular outing out of these trips, I think it does me good to be away from the computer scene for a little while. Though, I am kind of wondering what is happening over at Blue Sky, oh well, they would have called if there was any serious problems (that is a joke for those of you who do not know that I have no number at which I can be reached).

Anyway, tomorrow is the first day of the convention, looking forward to it, after, of course, my morning tour of Glasgow.

Now, about those shared showers we have…

Well, the first day of events here at Intersection. It was quite a busy day.

The breakfast they provide me for staying here at the University dormitories was, as per normal around here for B & Bs, exceptional. Though it was a bit tough getting that extra cup of orange juice… Gee, you sit down and they come to you to serve you, forget the “serve yourself” stuff, this is the REAL thing. I talked to someone from Australia and we were talking about some of the Scotisisms such as those having to do with driving and also those having to do with talking. He was quite nice and we had a fairly long talk, though I had to run before they towed my car, it will be nice on the weekend as I will not have to worry about parking as the limits do not apply on the weekend.

I had a tour of Glasgow this morning, wouldn't you know it, it was raining but that is fine by me, they need the rain and it did not effect the tour (other than the occasional snide remark, oh no, not me though!). It was quite interesting to get around town, to see all of the cathedrals and parks. We were also taken to a museum which houses a collection from a local gentlemen who willed it to the city, quite interesting. The tour operator said that he was not wealthy but he left a LOT of wealthy things, tapestries, paintings, sculptures, etc. I know that my mother would REALLY appreciate a lot of this, I like going to such places with her as we have much the same taste in art (that is, the RIGHT taste in art).

Also travelled under the river (as it can be called) here and that was interesting, typical of the English/Scotish to work around what Mother Nature put in the way…

I figure that the cars here are small because they are mainly used for quickly getting around cities or going from place to place within the United Kingdom (which is NOT that large), whereas, in North America, the distances are much more extreme and, as we are delicate in the nether regions, we need softer seats, bigger cars (preferably with the letters “Corvette” spelled across the front). It was another fun day driving but, I digress…

The conference itself is quite large, occupying the whole convention centre and the neighboring hotel (all of its conference rooms on the first and second floors). I went to a few talks today, one on Satellite Communications and another on the Geography of Space I: Earth and it's Atmosphere and another one on the Clementine Project (to take pictures of the moon and an asteroid that took place in 1994). All were quite interesting and I noticed that I really miss those types of talks from University. I remember that when I attended those types of lectures I was not so much concentrating on listening because of the exam I knew I would have to take, actually, I worried about the exams about 3 weeks before they occured, at least specifically worried about them, I was more interested in understanding the material as I was intrigued by what was discussed. I did not have many of those courses, which I regret, especially later in my University days, but perhaps I could go back to get some more of that type of energy I received.

After those talks I went over and took a look around the Dealer's Room, that is, a place where you can buy things from various companies. A lot more booksellers than were in Winnipeg last year (where the convention was held) so I took a fair amount of time to work my way through. I still have to pick up a book I saw but stumbled on the price (hardcovers are VERY expensive, but they are worth it to read, my sister says it is awkward but I find that I don't have to worry about breaking the binding and having the book fall apart on me and I can concentrate more on what is REALLY important – the contents. That said, I also see the price difference and normally go for the paperback unless it is a REALLY special book). I will be back to that area over the next little while as I only covered about half of it in the two hours I was there (or, I didn't really time it but it was at least an hour and a half).

They have an Internet connection here so I had a couple of chances to get onto Blue Sky and see that there were not as many messages as I thought. I took care of a few but a lot I will leave until I have some time, it is difficult to deal with fairly sensitive issues in front of about 10 other people who are waiting to use the system. It strikes me that here they are so culturally advanced compared to our newer society that they are no where near the level of technical sophistication that I notice even in Winnipeg. Even with this Internet connection, they have ONLY three computers (with a LOT of people using them ALL the time) accessing using a single phone line using the latest, consumer grade speed modem (device to talk over the phone to other computers). This is rediculous, if I were doing it, why I would….But I am not. It is just interesting to note that they are not quite as technically sophisticated as we are, not that they do not have the equipment, they are just not as quickly to adapt to it as we are in NA. But perhaps that is just it – we are so young that we can adapt and use change to our advantage much more quickly then here where change is a matter of overcoming old obstacles (despite what the younger people here say).

Anyway, saw that Karin says there is a leak in the roof of my house and that she is talking to mother to get it resolved (financially, etc.). Sounds like she has it well under control so I will leave it to her (besides, what would I say if I called “Fine. Go ahead.”?) It has to be fixed so she is doing fine. Perhaps I will call her on the weekend to re-assure her. Weird, it seems like a whole other world over there…it is, I suppose.

Watched a movie that I still cannot understand after seeing it about 4-5 times. They were showing it for free at the convention so I figured I would have another shot at it. I think I am getting the essentials now though…VERY violent, good story though (yet complicated).

Have not yet seen the press but I think they will be here tomorrow and on Saturday. Hoping to stay at a place in Wales on, oh, let's see, Monday night. My luck, they actually had brochures for the very place I want to say at another video that I watched with others today, it is Science Fiction in nature, in that it was featured in an older British Science Fiction series, very interesting place, hope to get some pictures while I am there.

Wonder what tomorrow brings…

Another day at the convention, this time a full day.

After breakfast this morning I saw that a group of people sitting at another table were going to the convention so I invited to give them a ride if they needed it to the convention. One person picked up on my offer, another said they would but did not show up in time (I had to get the car before the parking ban comes into effect at 8:45). My luck, he was from Chicago! It would have been nice to talk to a native, but anyway.

I am thinking that I will drive every day as I get to the convention before it opens and leave quite late at night (about 10:30 tonight). This is WELL after and before the parking restrictions come into effect and this weekend, of course, they do not apply anyway.

I attended a fair number of technical presentations today, most notably a discussion of Quantum Mechanics, which has always interested me. The discussion was intriguing enough that I may persue a course in it were I ever to return to University though, my sense getting the better of me, the mathematics might be a bit straining on my brain. I have been thinking about going back to University especially after being here for a little while, after all, Glasgow is a University city. Perhaps it is just a fantasy, much like the topic for this convention (well, in more ways then one, but then, not at all – if you follow).

The first discussion I was in dealt with the idea of making aliens more “alien”, which, on the service sounds a bit trite but when you think about it, we really cannot contrive any accurate representation of any type of alien that may exist the whole concept of “alieness” was discussed and it was quite interesting. They were, in particular, discussing how aliens are dealt with in a particular Science Fiction television show and it was quite suprising when a writer for the show burst into the room just about 15 minutes before the talk was over and joined the panel discussion and answered questions. It was quite interesting. This guy has written for (excuse me for getting specific but I think it is interesting to note) Star Trek: The Next Generation, Babylon 5 (on which the talk was focused), and he is producing/creating another show. This is quite impressive when you consider that it is VERY difficult to even be CONSIDERED for writing a script for these shows. He is a very interesting person, and, as is normal at these conventions as I have learned, the discussion went on well after the alloted hour was up (quite often 2-3 hours afterwords), although I was on to the next discussion they scheduled a talk with this guy for later at night so that the audience could talk to him in more detail, I attended that also and the information he had to impart was quite interesting, especially about the origin of some of the aspects of the series he has worked on, the politics, etc.

It was said to hear that one of the authors, one whose works I have read many times, died while he was here tonight. All of the discussions were interrupted with this news and it was a tragedy. I was actually going to attempt to meet with him, if only to get his autograph. Quite a visionary and very talented author from a long time ago.

I attended a show tonight that discussed the life and times of a famous Science Fiction television show producer which was also quite interesting (that also pushed me to 10:30 leaving). They are broadcasting, I am sure, the talk as it was quite good and professional.

I saw a few authors I am familiar with today but none that I would like to get an autograph from but that is for tomorrow as he is signing then. I was going to pick up a newer book, as a bonus, from here in England (hardcover, even better!) by a favourite British author of mine but they had sold out before I got to it so they should hopefully have it in tomorrow for me (I had to reserve myself a copy – it is VERY popular).

Well, tomorrow is probably the biggest day for the whole convention and I will probably be VERY busy running around, I am looking forward to it, though the lack of eight hours sleep many times is a bit rough first thing in the morning. I have been getting up, showering, having breakfast and then going to the convention. I leave the convention later that night, get in, eat, and then go to bed. Quite busy, and I still have not made it to any of the parties where there is LOTS of free food and drink (I don't know if I will go or not, I am always uncomfortable going to parties where the explicit reason for being is to drink, after all, not drinking does damper your popularity in these situations).

Off to bed…

The convention was quite interesting today, I finally received the book I wanted but I have still not met one of the people I wanted to today. I hold no hope (in all honesty).

I did, however, attend a panel discussion with one of my favourite authors so, hopefully I will be able to snag his autograph tomorrow at his autograph session.

As per the other days I have been here, I attended mainly science talks today, with a few notable exceptions (a few having to do with movies and the like).

One of the lectures had to do with the cost of information in the “Information Age” as in, will there be an “Information Underclass” who does not have the ability to access the new information available to all others. This is an interesting discussion as we at Blue Sky (I cannot say “FreeNet”, though I keep wanting to, as we were forced to change our name due to copyright issues with the founding organization in the United States, they wanted to SUE us for using the name “FreeNet”! This is VERY odd considering both of us are supposed to be non-profit and should, perhaps, be supporting each other) DO seek to bring this new information to all members of the public with the use of public access computers and the like. It was the opinion of the panel (believe me, I did make my feelings known) that there would still be those who would not have access at all times, perhaps they are being to altruistic about this and they may wish to be a bit more practical. I feel that our approach is the most appropriate in that we seek to represent the community that we serve and wish to provide such access to ALL (yes, we fall short, but then so will ANY endeavour unless money falls from the sky). It was an interesting talk and focused on such things as “debit cards”, that is, those cards that can be used instead of cash which directly effect your bank balance (we, of course, have this in Canada to a certain extent with the “Direct Payment” scheme).

I was disappointed to learn today that the Edinborough Tatoo was finishing today and even MORE disappointed to learn that they were sold out. Mother wanted me to go but I was told (by others) that it would be on for another week. I should have checked sooner but as I was under the wrong impression… I feel guilty but there is nothing I can do. I should think as to whether I will get to Edinborough or not, Monday is pretty much up in the air, in looks like I will be at the convention until at least 3:00 pm so it might not be worth it to go to Liverpool that night as it is about 4 hours away and by the time I get there I don't know if I will be able to get into a Bed and Breakfast. I will have to think about it a bit more.

After the long day of talks (until 7:00 pm as normal), I watched Star Wars for the 20th or so time and as I was doing so I was debating going to any of the parties they have going on during the convention. I feel guilty that I did not go in that I did not take in the “full” experience of the convention but then, I thought to myself, I dislike going to parties by myself and if it makes me feel uncomfortable and not enjoyable as it should be, why go? Perhaps I should take the leap but I would MUCH rather go with someone to these things so I came back here, to the residence, and relaxed instead (ok, ok, I was in the mood so I did a bit of computer programming NOT work OR Blue Sky related I might add, just a bit of fun…).

Well, I have not been talking about it, but ever since I got to Glasgow a few days ago it has been raining and generally miserable with the ocasional sunny minute or so. Today was no exception and it has even been cooler today. This is good, though, as they need the rain here though not quite as much as they need it in the south were the drought is still on, as far as I know, perhaps I should pick up a Sunday Times to figure out what is going on around the world.

So, tomorrow is the last full day of the convention, should be interesting, though tiring (as normal).

Got up fairly late today, I just could not pull myself out of bed at 7:15 as normal so I slept in until 8:15 or so, I did not have to worry about the car as it was Sunday so that was fine.

Breakfast was, as normal, quite good. The first day I was here I walked into the eating area and was taken at the size of the place, it could seat about 150 people. Many people were walking about with food and such so I walked around a screen where they were coming from, under the impression that breakfast was cafeteria-style but I was politely (and repeatedly, had trouble with the accent) told to sit down and they would SERVE me. This is quite a novel idea and I was quite happy to do so. The tables are fairly large so more often then not I am able to talk with those seated around me, though the conversation is a bit slow at that time of the morning (or is it just me?).

Got to the convention a bit later (thank goodness) and wandered around (again, as normal). There were a few good talks today, most notably the talk about the various “Space Planes” that are planned in the near (NEAR) future (they had some footage of test flights that were VERY impressive). That talk was very popular and must have had about 150 people in the audience (cramed into a SMALL room, it seems that the organizers of these types of conventions have difficulty, as is to be expected, figuring out what size of room to have for the various talks, either it is a huge room with 10 people or a small room with 100).

I finally got a few autographs that I wanted. One of the authors has been my favourite for a little while now, actually, my smarter cousin from Detroit introduced me, indirectly (I looked at his book shelves), to him. I am quite sure that Blake would have liked to meet him.

I did attend a few “fluff” discussions today, such as the future of the “Star Wars” movies (what will come next, etc.). It was interesting, especially considering that all of the panelists were authors of “Star Wars” books.

It was interesting to note that there was an article in the Scottish paper today tearing apart the convention, calling it a “Rip-Off” (the daily cost, if you pay that way, is 30 pounds, I paid the equivalent of 50 pounds a year ago for all the convention days) and ripping into it, calling attendees “weirdos” and the like. I found this amusing as they were obviously not discussing the discussions on Nanotechnology, Computer Science and (the other day) Quantum Mechanics. The thing about these types of conferences is that you need to get involved, you cannot just wander around and look at the displays and look at the various…individuals…dressed up (NO, NOT me! Unless you count the jeans and the backpack…). You need to talk to people, go to some of the discussions, watch a few movies, etc., etc. Just…do stuff, don't expect to be entertained, you have to entertain yourself in your choice of activities. Another point which disturbed me is that they had a complaint from a mother who brought her kids thinking that it was a Star Trek Convention and “they were bored within minutes of being there” (not quite a quote). Well, no wonder! I would not bring my kids here, this is for older, more mature individuals who have a fanatic love of the subject of Science Fiction, this is NOT a Science Fiction movie or attraction. Just my thoughts, it really upsets not only me but the entire group of attendees the way we are always misinterpreted by the media, sure, some of us dress up in costumes (not ME!), that is THEIR choice and who is to tell them otherwise? It makes them happy, gives them pleasure, that is what the whole gathering is about. As a side note, there was a sign- up sheet underneath where this newspaper article was posted for those wishing to bomb the offices of the newspaper (in jest, of course, but funny none- theless).

I left a little earlier tonight and I hoped to get some “authentic” Scottish food but the place I went to (recommended by the organizers of the convention) was closed, so I had a drink of pineapple juice and left, grabbing something later at a local (just down the street from the residence) East Indian place (EXCEPTIONAL food, don't know why it is better here, perhaps we are just closer and the food is more authentic because the people have just arrived or what, I don't know). The guys there had a great deal of fun with me after finding out I was from Canada. It was fun and entertaining. If I come back I will have to drop in again, the same goes for the Chinese food shop accross the way that also served excellent food. I do feel a little guilty for not having anything authentic, perhaps tomorrow night…

I have not yet decided what I will do tomorrow, either I will be going to Edinborough (which does not really appeal to me as I was under the impresssion that it would be very hard to find a place to stay with the festival on, but I think that the festival is over so, maybe not…I could always stay just down the coast, we will see) or I will be going to Liverpool (which does NOT appeal to me also since I would be travelling later in the day and may not see as much as I would driving in the day…maybe not, it will be about 8:00 pm when I get to Liverpool, maybe too late for a B & B though…). I guess I will have to decide tomorrow, I will give it some more thought. I am not really looking forward to having to find places to stay “on the fly” again, next time I come I will have to pre-book, saves me a lot of trouble.

Well, I REALLY want to get to one of the books that I got today before it is tomorrow…

Yep. I am still in Glasgow, I was going to leave but they were showing the coverage that a british television station did for the convention starting at about 6:30 pm so I figured that it would be ok to stay for a bit longer. I will be able to get an early start tomorrow, I am hoping to make it to Liverpool tomorrow (or perhaps past it…we will see).

The day was quite slow at the convention, I saw an interesting speaker talking about the possibility that there is NO “Grand Unification Theory” but a completely different method of organizing the way things work and how every- thing is interconnected. I did not really catch a lot of the details as this discussion was a review of his material so I will get the book sent to me when I get back to Canada. He was a very interesting person.

I picked up a signed first edition hardcover of a book not even released yet (it is due to be released in two weeks) for a friend of mine from Blue Sky. He will be VERY happy as he is an avid fan of this particular author (and series).

I actually had time to deal with most of my electronic mail while waiting for the aforementioned video to start so I am quite pleased. I sent off a bunch of messages even though the link they had was shared between three computers (normally, the modem they used would be suitable for only one computer). Actually, I closed the place, as the room was supposed to be closed for take- down at 4:00 and I got up from the computer at 4:30. The operators were not impressed, but they let me finish up anyway. This was something that was sort of nagging the back of my mind. Yes, I am having a good time but I still must always keep in mind that there are other things happening back home that I can help with (though to a MUCH lesser extent then before).

I was concerned that Karin would not pick up my plane ticket before she travels to Toronto (I don't know if I mentioned that – I bought her a ticket to visit Toronto while I am away as sort of a good-will gesture for her taking care of my house while I am in Prince Albert) so that I can get back to Prince Albert (not something I am looking forward to but something I have to think about or else work might get…upset) the day after I get back. It was VERY odd to be talking to her from the Convention Center. It really is a whole new world. I kind of like it.

Anyway, I spent some time tonight working on my plans for the next few days (yeah, yeah, so I lied in yesterday's little write-up…so SUE me…it's MY holiday NOT yours!) and I have decided that after Liverpool (actually, I hope to make it to Portmerion the site of the Prisoner television series – VERY interesting place, neat pictures I am hoping!) I will proceed south to Oxford and then Stonehenge and then, finally, London itself. I hope to book my accomodation in London tomorrow so I am guaranteed a room. It will be an interesting trip. Tomorrow, I am hoping to travel along the western coast of Scotland as I move southward, really nice scenery and lots of castles…

I am back at the residence tonight, though I got a better room at the front, quite a view, should get pictures out the window tomorrow morning, I AM six floors up from the street, lots of really neat older places here.

Actually, Glasgow is very old (but I know, not really in comparison to other places) and it is very different for me to see it. Seeing slate roofs, row houses exactly as they appear on television and described in books is quite interesting, not entirely expected I think. The cathedral downtown is really interesting, evidently dating back a LONG way (before any other building here).

I have decided to forego Edinborough this trip, it is an incentive to come back and something to look forward to. I do hope I come back to this area and the northern regions again with more time to explore. It would also be nice to travel with someone but until my fortune turns to the good, I will have to do this alone.

Better get to bed, early day tomorrow and I want to travel a fair amount…

Yes, I am not in Portmeirion as the hotel was full, instead I got the guard to recommend anywhere else to stay so he recommended this village which is about 15 minutes away from the village. It is a nice area right next to the Bay here in northern Wales. I had a good diner at a local restaurant where a nice looking Canadian was also working, it is fun to listen to the various accents of people around here, the signs in Welsh are VERY interesting (and confusing). I also had a bit of a walk by the castle and Bay tonight, it was very quiet and quite nice though I would have prefered to arrive earlier than the 7:30 I did arrive at. It is suprising to see the number of hotels and B & Bs here, I don't know what the attraction is, perhaps it is the scenery, the castles and the village. I am also suprised to see that, even right on the ocean/bay, there are houses for sale and NOT that expensive (for what I am used to). I am pretty much out of the main area of England though…

It was nice to have a double room at the front of the residence and I did get a few pictures out of my room this morning. They only charged me for a single, which was even better. It did give me a chance to spread out all of my maps and arrange my travel plans for the next little while.

I got up fairly early (again) and basically drove all day. I attempted to keep to the ocean for the whole trip so I took a few more hours than I could have if I had kept to the motorway (expressway, ie. big highway). The day was NOT a nice one as it drisled the whole day and was very gloomy and cold. I will have to come back to this area and to Glasgow. I have been thinking that I will come back in two years and do a bit more exploring, without a convention it should be much easier to spend some time around the various areas I have already only briefly explored (which is partly the purpose of this trip in my mind).

The areas I travelled through are very beautiful and I look forward to visiting again. I was travelling quite quickly all day trying to get here, which was quite interesting as the roads are VERY twisting around here, much different then I have ever seen in Canada. It is the roads that have a rock fence IMMEDIATELY beside them (not enough room between the car and the fence for a pedestrian), especially considering these are the most winding roads I have been travelling on. It has been quite challenging to drive with the road atlas I have proped up so I can figure out where I am. Today I travelled about 400 miles. That is PRETTY significant and I regret not stopping for lunch, though I did stop by the ocean to take a look around, it was quite nice.

I will be trying to visit the village tomorrow and I will be getting to Oxford if I can as I was hoping to visit the big bookstore there. I will have to remember to book my room in London ahead of time.

Just visited the village of Portmeirion (the place where the television series “The Prisoner” was filmed). It is quite interesting, built by a man who wanted to demonstrate that you do not have to tamper with the landscape to build an interesting bit of architecture. He built it on the side of a hill, leading down to a bay. It is quite pretty and very interesting. I was quite suprised at the number of people there. I was informed yesterday that it was a bank holiday this week (I don't know when, maybe Monday?) so that may explain why it is so busy but even so…

Anyway, I am sitting in the car looking at a number of rather large “hills” here in the middle of Wales. It is quite breathtaking and it makes me wonder why we hear so little of the wonderful countryside here in England. It seems to me that this particular area is basically where people from England go for a holiday. There are a lot of “caravans” (Recreation Vehicles) on the road and eveyone seems to be in a hurry which makes me suspect that they are from the island (England). The landscape is varied and all very heavily vegetated (yes, even the Yorkshire Dales and the Scotish Highlands). There are an AWFUL lot of sheep round about here and it is funny to be sitting here typing and listening to them (along with the infinite number of cars that seem to be passing me on the road). I should really get out more often…

Well, I found an easy (or, rather, easier) route into London so I will be taking that. I booked my room for tonight, only thing is that they did not have a single so it looks like I will have a double tonight and a single for the rest of the nights until Monday.

I will miss the countryside and I hope to come back in a little while to visit again, hopefully with someone so that we can both enjoy it (I don't know if I really enjoy traveling alone – it is good to 'scout' out an area before visiting again with others and doing a more in-depth review but as a tourist it is not fun being alone, there is so much I want to share and talk about but I don't talk back a lot to myself so the conversation is pretty much one sided).

I sent a couple of postcards off from the village, one to one of my co-workers who is a big Prisoner fan so he will get a kick out of it (the postcard was from the village) and one to mother and Alex so they will know that I am alright.

Another interesting thing about Portmeirion is that it is actually a village, people live there, yes, it is small but they do and don't seem to mind all of the people that visit daily (the residences are, of course, private).

Anyway, onward ho!

I made it! Here I am in the heart of London, about 3 blocks away from the King's Cross station WITH the car. The latter is the source of much of my problems right now, I would like to keep it and go to Oxford and Stonehenge but I have decided instead to return the car (nice that they let me return it to King's Cross) and get a tour of Oxford (walking tour). This answers a few of my concerns, traveling to Oxford on my own would be no where near as informative so I figure that I will for this instead. Later I hope to catch a show (stay tuned fellow “Steve” watchers for more thrills and excitment).

The trip was not so bad though getting into London was an experience. It seems that the road that I was supposed to have been able to follow almost directly to this boarding house (or whatever it is called) was closed to I had to make a (quick) re-route. It was rather interesting fighting the trafic at 9:00 at night, trying to read a map and trying to get back to the road that should have been open in the first place. Not a nice experience, took me a good 30 minutes to get here from the original detour, saw a lot of interesting things though, Picadilly Circus was quite interesting…so was Hyde Park, at least, at night.

The car is sitting on the street right now and I can see the writing on the wall (or grafiti on the car, as the case may be) and I will dump the car tomorrow. Interesting thing is that breakfast starts at 7:15 here, the earliest I have even seen breakfast starting (I don't know if I would be able to focus my eyes at that time in the morning, heck, I'm not a glutton for punishment, I'm getting up at about that time, though I had better move the car before 8:30 or someone else may move/ticket it for me).

The road was quite good and I passed through many small towns. I don't know if I mentioned it but I am astounded by the differences between our two cultures. The lack of advertising to the degree I see in North America is quite suprising, you don't know how much difference the lack of a Coca-Cola sign on a shop makes. Many of the restaurants, stores, gas stations do little if ANYTHING to advertise on their exterior (or interior as well) the products they sell. It is quite nice and lends a more utilitarian look as a whole.

The roads are clean and well maintained. It suprises me to be clipping along a road with the trees trimmed around the road (like a tunnel). I was also impressed to see that hedges, or trees beside the road, are also trimmed (as in, rectangular trimmed, as you would see in someone's front yard). This is a LOT of work and not unusual to see wherever you go. No garbage can be seen beside the road (at least none by our standards). I have also noticed the lack of 7-11s. See, I told you it was cleaner and more civilized!

I feel kind of guilty that I will not be making it to Stonehenge (or however you spell it, give me a break it is 11:00 at night). Karin really wanted me to go but it is just not practical for this trip. I will make it next time.

I hope to get my trip to Paris postponed until Sunday instead of the Saturday it is currently booked for. Saturday there are a few shows on that I would REALLY like to see, so it would be good to be in Paris for Sunday.

I have also gathered that I can catch a “coach” (whatever that is, I understand it is a “bus” in our terms) to the airport (of course, the furthest airport out, did you have to ask?) right from here, booking in advance. That will be easier, I have about 50 pounds of books (so far, I make no illusions…).

Well, tomorrow should be very busy, but interesting as well (what isn't?).

This has been a very busy day. Here at the guest house (or whatever) I was moved from a double room to a single room across the hall, of course, I was gone most of the day so I had to move all of my belongings to the first floor (I am on the 4th floor, 3rd in number only) – I have really got a lot of stuff now, mostly books – then back up to the 4th floor later in the day (when I got in earlier this evening).

Anyway, after breakfast this morning I caught the Underground to Paddington Station. You know, they are very easy to use (once you have got the hang of the various things, such as ticket purchase and working the machines that take your tickets) to use. Once there, I picked up a walking tour for Oxford, so we caught Britrail to Oxford and ran about the city.

Oxford is a very interesting place, right downtown it is very congested with people and shopping malls, etc. but outside of that central hub at the various colleges, it is very quiet. This fascinated me, to realize that people are actually studying there, while we are tramping through their courtyards and chapels. With the tour, I was also interested to learn about the education system here, with the guide explaining how school works here in England. I finally know what “forms” are and “A-Levels” mean (well, in principle, I don't think I could explain it, like, here). The entrance to the colleges is fairly straightforward, with a lot of politics involved (it seems to me) above and beyond grades, though they certainly have something to do with it.

I visited the college where Lawrence of Arabia was a student, this was quite a thrill, after having watched the film so often, his character has always drawn me somehow. His statue was just as it appears in the film and, if I recall, the film ends in that very college.

I ran out of film while there and, wouldn't you know it, I did not have any more on me (there is only so much I can carry on a tour like that) so I did get a few pictures of the insides of a few chapels and squares but not much more, I was hoping to get a picture from the top of the Carfax tower but as I did not have any more film… I wish I had when I visited the chapel at Exeter. Quite magnificent, though a bit gaudy for my taste (as in, I would not have it on my house or in my living room, but in a college, it is fine).

Had a nice lunch in the “oldest pub in Oxford”, quite low ceilings but exceptional food, different food (not only Fish & Chips). I had a nice conversation with an older couple from Pensylvania and this helped to pass the time. It is good to see people from the states that enjoy the British culture, this does not seem to be a common trait. We did get off on the wrong foot when I insisted that I was NOT an American but a Canadian (“There IS a difference”) but that was quickly (thankfully) forgotten.

I do hope I get back to Oxford to take a look around a bit more. I would be tempted to even try get into one of the colleges (you know, there are only about 1,500 students at any one time? Each student has their own “tutor” and there are NO lectures, except for the occasional lecture that is NOT required for student studies. Sessions are about 2 hours in length ONCE a week. I commented that this would make it MUCH more difficult as I found that I sometimes put more pressure on myself, given time, then the professor does. It would also SERIOUSLY increase the pressure to perform exceptionally) but they do not seem to cater to my area of interest, but, then, you never know…I didn't ask…

I made the mistake of going into the bookstore there (Blackwell's, if you must know) and was quite suprised. Coming in the front door, there is a reasonable selection of books, mostly hardcover, ALL non-fiction (well, ok, there was a small fiction section, NO Science Fiction) about the size of a normal bookstore. I happened to notice a staircase leading down so I went down and I was shocked. The size of the room in the basement was ENORMOUS. It, literally, took my breath away. I was told by one of the clerks that there are 5 miles worth of bookshelves in that room alone. I believe it. I did pick up a few books (by UK authors except for one which I am shooting myself in the foot about, but, we all make mistakes) about Physics, reading books, mind you, which is my sort- of hobby on the side (as in, it has always interested me to a certain extent). I also found their Computer Science section exceptional and I did grab a catalog, perhaps they will here from me in the future…

Once we got back to London (the trip, by the way, was interesting, passed two nuclear reactors (which still suprises me, but it makes sense – what else would they use to generate power? Coal? Too dirty (and outlawed I believe). Hydro-Electric? Not enough water. Gas? Not enough of it here to burn).

I was in a bit of a hurry to get back to the guest house (or whatever) so I could catch the show tonight. Well, I did get to the show and I was not disappointed. The Mousetrap was quite good, the acting was exceptional and quite entertaining. The theatre was small but clean and interesting. There were a fair number of people there, though the house was not sold out. I can't remember what performance number it was but it was well above 10,000, it has been playing now for 43 years. It makes me wonder how it can support itself, but the theatre is small, the crowd is regular. I don't know how much longer it will go but I think it still has a few years left.

It is something that I have noticed that there are always signs for “Way Out” as opposed to “Exit”. This throws me for a loop as this is a theme for the television series The Prisoner (now, where have I heard that mentioned before?). Just another one of those things…

There was supposed to be a strike by the underground workers tonight but we were talking to someone and he said that there will be about 1/3 of the trains (as opposed to 0/3) running for 24 hours. It should make getting anywhere tomorrow interesting.

Well, as written down, I hope to get to Buckingham Palace, the Thames Barrier, the London Dungeon and catch a show. We shall see.

Boy am I tired. Running around, even if it is on the Underground, is very tiring. I am busy organizing everything for Paris tomorrow (picking out what information/pamphlets I need to take with me, including my passport). It strikes me that I will need a holiday when all this is over, hard to imagine that in only three days I will be back on the dole (working again). I am thinking that I will have to take the Tuesday I get into Prince Albert off of work, if only to catch up on sleep. Hum, wonder if I should let them know? I actually don't know if I care what they think at this point. Work is just a thorn in my side, even here (translation (in case you missed it): I am not a happy camper, translation of translation: work is not good right now).

Started the morning off with a trip to Buckingham Palace and, wouldn't you know it, I actually got into the first morning opening (they give you tickets with a time on them that you have to show up at the side entrance but there are no guides for the 'tour') so I thought I had done well for myself. The grass in the various parks surrounding the palace are quite brown because of the lack of any rain to speak of for the last month or so it makes me wonder if the queen was actually in the palace right now that the grass would be watered. I was just struck with the thought: what does she think as she goes to sleep at night, does she stop to think that she is such an important question or has that method of thinking been purged from her mind after so long being the monarch?

The palace is quite nice, probably the cleanest (from the outside) building I have seen in London so far (except, perhaps, the Tower Bridge, but I am getting to that, eventually), though it is kind of disappointing to see that the gold at the tip of each spike on the gates surrounding is actually paint, I am sure that it is gold (as in, gold leaf) paint but nonetheless…

I was actually suprised at first to see the metal detectors but only for a fraction of a second, I have been told that anyone entering the palace, regardless of how, is to submit to this. No photography was allowed, which is a shame but understandable. I did pick up the tour guide (a book, not a person, though, I suppose, if they were good looking…) and read it quite thoroughly as I went through each room, viewing individually each piece of art, furniture, etc. It was quite interesting to see the inner courtyard of the palace and the grand staircase, the dining room, and the wonderfull works of art. I am not terribly well versed in the victorian art period but I was knowledgable enough to pick out a view artists (Rembrandt, van Dyck, and Rubens). I don't know, the ruby colored cheeks and the happy faces kind of get to me after about 50 or so paintings of the same kind. It does make you wonder what the REAL treasures are in the palace that we do not see on the tour. I was going to get to the Queen's Gallery where they had a special exhibition of Faberge eggs (which I have a fascination with, ever since I was first exposed to them in, of all places, a James Bond movie). Maybe on Sunday…

After the fairly exhausting trip through the palace I made the even more exhausting walk down to the Thames to catch a boat tour to the Thames Barrier and, of course, along the way I passed Big Ben and the Parliment buildings. They really are (as mother would say, I would NEVER say it) “goopy” (spelling is rather hazy for this one I am afraid to say). It is quite fascinating to be seeing the history you have heard about (and seen) for so long. I should really take some more time to learn the history of the city, there are a lot of interesting things about it.

I made the fairly nice trip down the Thames (that is, downstream) with a bit of commentary from the captain (or rather, his assistant) about what we were seeing, of particular interest to me were, the reconstruction of the Globe theatre about 1/2 mile away from the original site (which we saw also), the London Bridge although it is really a new bridge, but interesting for it being “London Bridge”, Tower Bridge, which is just interesting in that it is exactly as pictured including a newly painted and tidied fascade, the Greenwich Observatory, as we passed from East to West and vise-versa and the Canary Wharf project which is interesting in that it was the failed project of Olympia and York from Canada (they are going after Mexico now). The barrier itself was interesting but disappointing in that they chose to emphasize the “British Engineering Conquers Nature” aspect as opposed to how exactly it was built or perhaps toning down the “Conquers Nature” bit (which is not exactly a good tact to take in Canada it seems to me but it seems to pass here). The exhibits were lacking in any content whatsoever and were all too short, but we can't win them all as was demonstrated when the boat to take us back to London (the barrier is about, oh, I don't know, 20 miles downstream from London) was about an hour late arriving (the tides were coming in).

I was hoping to get to the London Dungeon today but when I got back to London I just had time to order tickets for tonights show (see below), get back to the room (to change, by tube) and finally get to the show (by tube, again). I did get to see Starlight Express today, boy was it IMPRESSIVE. The theatre is interesting in and of itself in that you enter through one set of doors and you are faced with another set of doors immediately opposite on the next street over, you enter the theatre to the one side. The staging was incredible. I will attempt to describe (I was quite disappointed to see that no map of the stage was included in the playbill but anyway…), first, you need to understand the premise of the show, it is about trains. The whole story revolves around these trains that a child owns (as it begins) and that are having a race (I won't go any further in the description of the story). This is accomplished by having the actors wear skates and dress up as the various characters (one notable character as an electric train is quite good). Now, to get the action of the various races (semi-finals, finals, etc.) there are, literally, rollerskate rings around the whole auditorium, when you enter (at least on the main floor), you must walk over one such ring and on the balcony, there is a ring right around the front of it. There is a ring around the middle of the first 10 or so rows that the skaters use, there is also an impressive main stage that contains a double ramp (a 1/4 circle on each side) and an interesting trestle bridge-structure that moves about on it's central axis and up and down. During the races, the racers would start from the center stage, and quickly (VERY quickly, a SERIOUS race, no KIDDING!) move up to the ring surrounding the lower level (where I was sitted) and around to the front again where the trestle bridge would allow them to proceed to the ring in front of the first balcony and then they would reverse and come back down, finishing with a final lap around the inner ring around the first 10 rows. It was quite thrilling and they had a screen that came up that showed you what was happening at any one time. The music was, as to be expected from (Sir) Andrew Lloyd Webber, exceptional and I was even more impressed to pick up the soundtrack which is VERY hard to get in Canada.

Now, I am a bit worried about customs going back into Canada, I have a LOT of books and they are worth a fair amount of money, it looks like Sunday night/ Monday morning I will be going through as many of my receipts as I can find as I am only allowed a small amount of money worth of goods back into Canada. It looks like I will be REALLY helping out our government with my hard-earned dollars.

I have to get to bed, I have to catch the train to Paris at 6:15 am tomorrow and it is 11:30 already, looks like I may be sleeping on the train a bit (hopefully not for the Chunnel), I also have to get to the train which should be interesting using the underground.

After the early morning start, after about 5 hours of sleep, I caught the first subway to Waterloo station and from there picked up my tour to Paris. An altogether busy yet enjoyable (as usual here) day.

The trip in the morning was quite nice and I met a couple from Austin, Texas who I stuck with for most of the day, they are quite pleasent people and we talked a lot along the way to Paris. The train was quite well appointed (furnished), having large seats, altogether different from the commuter trains I am used to in Toronto thank goodness. Automatic sliding doors, facing seats with intervening table, and a lot of other neat features. After leaving Waterloo we were wisked to the coast travelling through a bit of English farm- land different from what I saw coming into the city from the northwest side.

The train is a fast one – they say it is the fastest in the world at 300 KM/HR or 180 miles/hour (or something like that), faster than, yes, even the bullet train in Japan. The train has been running less than a year and it is very nice inside (or did I already say that?). Did not see much of the white cliffs of Dover as we entered the tunnel on the other side of the cliffs (inland), the transition was abrupt after the countryside though we did receive a notice that we were entering the tunnel. The trip through the tunnel is 20 minutes and that passes very quickly, the ride is very smooth, and is actually very smooth for the whole trip, hard to even feel that you are on a train. The other side was much like England except, of course, the cars travelled on the right side of the road (with more meaning to that phrase than just one). We arrived in the North Station in Paris and caught a bus outside of the station for a some- what brief tour of Paris.

We were told that, after arriving at 11:15, we were to meet at 5:00 and we had this tour for a bit more than an hour. The tour really just ran us in the bus around the city pointing out the various sites with little, if any, historical commentary. Quite interesting to see the city, it is not as I expected, I was not quite aware of the amount of historical importance in the city, in terms of buildings and history itself. One of my favorite places to see was the Notre Dame Cathedral which I was hoping to visit but did not end up having enough time for. The normal views of the Eiffel tour and the Arc De Triumph were nice but I have seen that before. The other buildings, new to me, were much more interesting and the little tidbits of history fascinating.

After we were dropped off at the Opera House (another favourite of mine) we were free to walk around so I took off to a restaurant this couple I was with had found in a guide book and we had a very pleasent lunch (a formal one) for the next hour and a half (during which I regretably ordered a meal that was lamb with french fries, which I could swear was not written on the menu) we ate and then we proceeded to take a taxi (after a bit of work) to the Louvre (we also took a taxi to the restaurant, we could not be bothered to walk as the amount of time we had was limited).

I was only at the Louvre for about 45 minutes so I only had time to catch a peek at the Mona Lisa and the Venus De Milo (down a long hall view). I did pick up a guide to the Museum and I did also attempt to see a bit more of the various Victorian paintings around the Mona Lisa. The building itself is amazing, it certainly does match the collection it houses, an antique itself. I would really like to spend at least a day there in the future to take in the full experience, I think it would be worth it, actually, I would not mind a week trip to just Paris (as I would London for that matter) to explore the various cultural displays available.

After that, I just walked up to the Opera House and stopped by the Hard Rock Cafe for something for my sister (it is a habit I am now getting in to), I think she will like that, I thought that it would have been much nicer to pick up a new perfume for her or something but this only came to me on the train when we were leaving. I seriously regret that. I am feeling more and more guilty that I have not found her anything, or any of my relatives for that matter, maybe tomorrow…

I just caught the bus (the Hard Rock Cafe was not easy to find I had to eventually go to the Opera House where I found someone from my tour and got them to point the way as they were carrying a bag from there and then I ran to there and back to the bus) back to the train station. The ride back was uneventful as I was not sitting with the people from Austin (they were in a different car, I should have gone and sat with them, I seem to be full of “should haves” today, life is too short…). They did do a passport check on the train so I have a mark from the “Channel Tunnel” now in my passport, kind of interesting.

On the trip back to London I basically planned out tomorrow's itinerary which will be…I will let that be a suprise.

I feel kind of gross as I desperately need laundry done and around here even the laundrymats close early (8:00?), everything closes early, someone was mentioning that this is actually a by-law in London put in place due to the city wanting it's people to spend time with their families. This seems a bit odd, but quite in line with the traditional way of doing things around here. So, I will have to get up early to do laundry tomorrow, but if you think I am going to fold it…you've GOT to be kidding!

Going to bed earlier tonight than normal, hope to make up for an undoubtably short night tomorrow, I still have to figure out how much all of my books cost for customs in Canada. I think I will be helping to pay for the Prime Ministers next trip abroad, but, heck he needs the rest, or something.

Last day in London. So what did I do with this day? Where did I go, what did I see? Funny you should ask, I was just going to tell you…

As I was smelling funny, I first visited the local laundrymat and was suprised to see that my white shirts came out of the wash as a nice shade of baby blue. I have nothing against the color, it's just that they are SUPPOSED to be white, I hope I can bleach them…

Yesterday, having talked with the Paris tour guide, he suggested I take one of the tour buses in London that run on a set route and allow you to get on and off as you please with one set price. So, I did this (as if that would be a suprise to you). I stayed on the bus for one route, or at least until it got nearly to the end and hopped off for the first stop at the Tower of London. Did I mention that I picked up the bus at Picadilly Circus? No? Oh, I did. Quite a lively place, a lot like some places in Toronto (the only other big city I can compare it to, at least, that I have first-hand knowledge of) I have been to.

The Tower of London was quite interesting if not a bit bloody, the guard we had went into a lot of detail, for example, about how a be-heading did not quite go so well and after 5 chops with the axe, the executioner had to get out a hunting knife to finish the job. Yikes. That is not a pretty picture. I did manage to catch a tour just as I got to the Tower and listened in for a bit, I must admit that my English history ranks right up there with Icelandic politics in terms of my knowledge so everything was fairly new to me. Walking around some of the walls (on top actually) I was quite taken aback by the popularity of the place, about 50-50 foreigners and natives, which is quite different than I am used to. The inner courtyard is quite quiet and the ravens are something else (albeit, you really don't want to 'mess' with them unless you absolutely have to), there are always 6 of them in residence with their wings clipped so they do not take off. Evidently, they are quite protective of their various teritories around the inner castle.

The crowd jewels really take your breath away. I was quite impressed that they were not as gaudy as you might think, actually, most are fairly simple in complexity but more than make up for it in jewel arrangement (size, notably, have you ever seen a diamond verging on the size of a golf ball?) and in sheer magnificence. The security around them is very low key, which strikes me as the way it should be, these treasures are to be seen and experienced, not hidden away in some vault somewhere (though I am sure some of the pieces have not seen daylight for sometime packed away in some corner).

After a couple of hours just trying to get a feel of the place, I picked up the bus once again and stopped the next time at Picidilly Circus and had a look around inside Tower Records. I was really impressed with their selection, I was specifically looking for my favorite composer, Andrew Lloyd Webber and I was not disappointed and I did manage to pick up a copy of a CD that we can only get at a HUGE cost in Canada (as an import). I was also seriously tempted to pick up another CD that I did not even know existed (a soundtrack to a musical as well) but that would have put me into the “serious money” bracket and I was already worried about customs on the way back tomorrow, so I held off. I am pleased to see they have an overseas service so I will be able to get it sent to me (maybe I will order tomorrow from the airport and save me some long distance charges, hum, what a thought…). I found the store to be a lot like our Sam's store in Toronto (except, of COURSE, Tower was SMALLER).

Next I caught the tour bus to St. Paul's but as it was Sunday, access to the cathedral was very restricted and I only got into the main atrium and did not get up to the altar area or have a chance to climb up to the top of the dome. The cathedral is very impressive, though much as I expected, yes, it is big and very immediate seeing it that close but not completely suprising. I wonder what prepared me for that, the CN Tower? Office buildings? I don't know.

Then, I proceeded (perhaps stupidly) to Hard Rock Cafe to do my usual shopping for Karin. There was actually I line for the souveniers so I had to wait about 20 minutes, I hope she appreciates what I do for her…(that is a joke, laugh, ha-ha). I think it is kind of fun to keep doing this, popping into a store to pick up a trinket whenever I get to a new, large, city is easy and she seems to enjoy what I pick up. This was my last use of the tour buses, next I took the Underground to an interesting area of the city…

Yesterday, when talking to the couple from Austin they suggested a restaurant that is suppposed to be the talk of London, VERY popular and VERY, VERY good. Ok, so what kind of restaurant? They told me, but I would best describe it to you as I experienced it…I got off the train in, basically, not exactly a good neighbourhood, it being about 7:00 at night on a Sunday did not help matters, I wondered around the area I knew the restaurant to be in and eventually saw the lights and walked in to discover that there was a line almost out the door, as I stood there in line, it DID go out the door and onto the street a bit. The line moved quickly and they had a waitress walking around taking drink orders and punching them into her portable computer-pad (or whatever you call it). As she entered the order, the bar downstairs got it and readied the drinks so that when she went down periodically, they were waiting. As we got to the basement, where the restaurant is, I started to see the layout. There are a series of what can best be described as long picnic-type tables (of course, nice long tables with comfortable seating) that were jammed with people. There were about 5-6 tables with about 40 people on each. As people finished eating, they were replaced by people in line quickly. They call it a “JAPANESE noodle bar”, this is new to me, I did not know that the Japanese have a penchant for noodles but this bar was modeled after similar type restaurants in Japan that have existed for hundreds of years. News to me. Anyway, I was seated and proceeded to have the most wonderful meal I have had here.

Maybe I should explain, I am a GREAT lover of authentic ethnic cuisine. Particularly, Japanese and Chinese, and, no, “Chicken Balls” are NOT authentic anything, except, perhaps american fast food authentic (that is North American, not US, by the way, I will not leave Canada out of the guilty party). I don't know why this is, but I suppose it is due to a friend in University who was from Hong Kong. He took me out fairly often to various places around Winnipeg and exposed me to a completely different way of eating (and thinking, to a certain extent) which I have not forgotten. I think I am able to basically eat anything just to experience it. How do you know you will like/not like something until you have tried it? You can't. How do you KNOW what snails taste like until you tried it. I am of the sort that squeamishness, though not gone, has been diminished so little bothers me any more. Now I KNOW what I do not like so I do not order it, it is not that I do not like the idea of the contents, it's just that I do not like the taste. Two VERY different things.

So, this restaurant was heaven to me, a whole new aspect of the Japanese cuisine culture (if you can call it that) that I was not previously aware of.

And the food.

Beyond words, I could tell you what I had but that would be no good either, you MUST experience it to believe it. Oh, have the natural vegtable drink they have, I saw them make it with a lot of veggies and a blender. VERY real food. I will say that I had a deep-fried (with a special batter) shrimp and a seafood noodle dish that sent me into seventh heaven, actually, the waiter noticed that I was scraping the bottom of my bowl with my spoon, leaving NOTHING to waste.

The really neat thing (other than the INCREDIBLE food) is the atmosphere. It had a real personal sence about the whole place. A community. What a way to end a holiday. Oh, the name of the place? Wagamama (neat eh?) at 4 Streatham Street in London (duh…), UK (even more duh…).

Well, after pleasently filling myself I dreamily made my way back to my hotel and proceeded to depress myself by organizing my receipts for customs and preparing for the trip. It is still fairly early but I am tired and I want to go to bed (can you hear the music?) so I won't be so bad on the plane. I am still debating as to whether I will be going to work on Tuesday or not, I think I might not (though they might scream at that, but what the heck…).

I am now on a plane to Saskatoon, heading back to the place that has been my home for the past year in Prince Albert. The day is fairly cloudy yet it has not really had a chance to begin yet.

Yesderday was quite a ride and did not exactly start off with a smooth begin- ning. After my breakfast, I was packed and ready to go, having known that I was a bit over the 30 kg weight restriction on the plane with the numerous books I had brought AND that I was over the limit for the value of goods that I could take back to Canada without any duty costs. My pre-booking of a trip to the airport did not exactly follow through, I waited for about 45 minutes before the manager of the place I was staying came out and had called the shuttle service as they were so late.

The Underground had severe service restrictions again this day because of the ongoing negotiations of one of their unions. This made service difficult but not impossible, though there were a lot of busy cabs on the street. I was grateful that I was not on the Underground as I was a few days ago.

The place in London I stayed at, I don't know if I commented about it. It is a smaller Bed & Breakfast-type establishment with three floors and both single and double rooms. It is run by the Salvation Army but don't let that fool you, this is not for the “down and out” nor is it for the terribly thrifty traveller. It is located only about 3 blocks from the King's Cross station, yes, that is the station that had a fire about 5 years ago and killed a number of people. The surrounding city area is not the nicest in London but certainly the people are friendly and there is a lot of “atmosphere”. The people running Cambria House are quite helpful and are willing to go the extra mile, this made all of the difference in the world. The rooms are small, but clean and quiet. Toilets (NOT washrooms or bathrooms, remember!) are located on each floor and there are about 4 per floor so getting into one is not normally a problem, though the lack of any reasonable number of showers was disappointing, only one per floor, have to get in early to have a shower.

Eventually the manager helped me hail a cab and I proceeded to Victoria station. It was interesting in that this was the first time travelling from the B & B to downtown on the roads of London so I was eager to see what I could see. London is busy, yes, but personable. What I mean is that it has character and it is very inviting, it seems to me. Not that there are no rough edges, certainly, but that is to be expected from any city the size of London (and the age). I found it very welcoming and interesting. The cabbie drove by Buckingham Palace and on to the train terminal which has a direct (non-stop) service to Gatwick, the airport I left out of.

The ride to the airport was quiet and I was impressed that to catch the train I just went down the elevator and got on the train, no tickets to purchase (you do that on the train), and when I got off, I just walked to the terminal, only a few steps away. Only to be greeted with a line that was absolutely incredible waiting to be checked in for my flight. The airport is severely congested but I eventually managed to pick up my boarding pass, check my luggage, convert all of my money (English and French) to Canadian and pass through security. I had already noticed that being in the terminal was much like being in a shopping mall as there were lots of stores and restaurants, fairly reasonably priced (I suppose, because of the competition). After I passed through security I was even more startled to be in the middle of what can only be described as a mall, the only different thing being that there were a fair amount of “duty-free” shops and there were signs to the terminal gates.

I proceeded to my gate to be again suprised that we had to get on a small shuttle train to get to the area of the airport where our plane was waiting.

The flight was uneventful, service was not fast but certainly exceptable. We stopped briefly in Halifax and then proceeded to Toronto. I was amazed that Halifax seemed to be in the middle of no-where, or perhaps this was my perception from where the airport was located, there were a lot of trees, and the area looked very new. From the air, the city was small but it does look quite nice, I wonder if I will ever visit?

Toronto was busy, I was pleased that in Customs I was informed that the limit for duty-free purchases had been raised and that I was within that limit (on the edge, at least) so I did not have to pay duty, though I did have to wait about half an hour for my luggage. Wondering around aimlessly for a few minutes I finally caught the bus shuttle service to the terminal my return flight to Winnipeg was in and checked in without any further mishaps.

I did talk to my grandmother from the airport. She is always so brief on the phone, though I really enjoy talking to her. I will have to visit her the next time I am in town. She is the one that talked me into writing this epic of my England trip.

Fairly relaxed, I had time to grab a hamburger, the first one in a long time I am happy to say and walk to the gate. I was very tired by this time and tried my best to stay awake during the return flight. By this time I had travelling for about 12 hours so my attention span was…lacking.

I finally made it to Winnipeg and grabbed my luggage, disappointed that Karin was not waiting but I stuck around for a bit and she eventually turned up. My luggage was not exactly 100% as I left it as my shampoo bottle had exploded, luckily, many of my signed first editions were in plastic bags and those not were unharmed. I was quiet much of the way home, being very depressed and not in the best of shape physically. Seeing the house did not help, with the leak in the roof Karin had told me about and the fact that it really is not my house in the strictest sence of the term. It has been a long time since I have actually lived there, about a year.

I began unpacking and was quite happy to have a call from mother who cheered me up somewhat as I began the conversation with bitter complaints about the state of the house, and my current lot in life. Eventually, we moved on to better things and I let her know about how my trip went, where I visited. She is visiting London with her husband Alex, next month so I was busy pointing out various things she should do (even those I did not have time to do while I was there).

Well, from the New World to the Old World and back again. It has been a long trip but one that I would do again at the drop of a hat. I learned so much and I feel that I have grown somewhat. Before leaving, England was real in that I could imagine that it existed and what it looked like but until you are actually there do you realize that this is indeed a whole new (old) world. There are people living there, in a very different environment then here. This point was driven home in Paris with the different language and very different culture.

I suppose in the back of my mind, even, to a certain extent, before I left I was thinking as to whether I would consider moving there, even, as I pointed out to mother last night, for a few months on a work Visa. I don't know about this, it is certainly different but perhaps that is the appeal? They have demands for people of my talents, I could really work anywhere I want as my skills are very transportable, besides, my resume and even my current line of work points out that I can quickly adapt. As to the difficulty of this type of move, I don't think that is really important, I want to be happy and content which seems to be really lacking where I currently am. The pressures are unreal, I think that, most of all, I have learned in my holiday that there is a time for work and a time for play, never the twain shall meet. I seem to be lacking that balance, and this is NOT simply a matter of selfishness, this is matter of self-preservation and helps you to work more effectively and be more effective as a human being.

I will never forget Scotland, with its rolling hills, wonderful “lochs”, beautiful towns, twisty roads, Wales, with its wonderful shorelines, beautiful forests, nice people, interesting places to visit, France, with its numerous Bistos, wonderful history, ornate buildings, million or so dogs and finally London, which seems to hold special meaning for me. It seems that London compares to me much the way that Toronto does, certainly not in size or culture but rather in that large city feel, though London seems to have a soul. Perhaps that soul is based in the many years of history behind the city, perhaps all of those old buildings and monuments help to maintain that personable feel to the city. Toronto and other cities I have seen in Canada and even the U.S. seem to lack that soul, and seem to be only shadows of what I have seen in London. But, perhaps that is just me.

Yes, I will go back. When? I don't know. I suggested to my grandmother that I may go back next year, but I don't know. I desperately want to go back to see what I missed. Largely this trip was one of exploration and not the “mapping” that such a place deserves. I need to go back and I will. North America seems to have lost it's intrigue for me. Maybe I should look around here a bit more and then decide, I don't know.

Will I move there? I don't know. We shall see…