National Rail - my second home

And to keep you updated I can tell you that I am now safely back in the UK. Safely back in my little corner of England - Ludlow. I flew back last Saturday from Dresden to Gatwick. Dresden airport is the smallest airport I've ever been too. It's tiny! I know I haven't been to many aiports but I'm pretty sure I could travel the world and not find too many airports smaller than Dresden's!! The only people in the whole airport were the people wanting to catch my flight as that was the only flight leaving until later that evening. Infact, there were so few flights that to fill the computer screen up with outgoing flights they had the next couple of days' flights displayed! When I landed at Gatwick I took the train down to Brighton and then changed to go to Hove where I arrived at Amanda's flat towards 20h. I stumbled in, luggage and all, and she said the magic word - tea. Oh yes please. It had been three weeks since a cup of proper English tea had passed my lips. I'd tried every kind of fruit tea imaginable, I'd even resorted to buying Earl Grey, but nothing, nothing could compete with plain, ordinary, black tea. Whilst at the hostel in Dresden I was asked by an American, who seemed to think the English were a nation of tea drinkers, 'so, what kind of tea do you drink?' He didn't bother asking if I liked tea but just went straight for 'what kind'. I replied with plain, black, ordinary tea. The kind that seems just not to exist outside the UK which, considering we don't grow it there, seems kind of strange! Anyway, yes, I arrived at Amanda's and had a cup of tea. I showered, I slept.

On the Sunday we went into Brighton. I was horrified that the price of a bus ticket has gone up yet again. When I started at uni in 2005 an all day city saver (where you can hop on and off as many buses as you like all day) cost £2.80. When I left last year it was up at £3.00 and now, now it has risen to the extautionate, day light robbery, bank breaking total of £3.50 would you believe?! Thankfully the annual bus pass remains at £300 but £3.50 for a bus ticket! We did a spot of shopping (one bus) then took the 77 to Devil's Dyke in West Sussex (a second bus) - it's a part of the Sussex Downs. I'd never been before. We sat on the upper deck of an open top bus being blown away for a good 20 minutes before arriving, under skies that had been blue but were now grey, and feeling rather cold. A quick glance at the view told me it was somewhat similar to Shropshire - rolling green fields and countryside, we then headed inside to the one and only pub/restaurant for lunch. Delicious. I had an italian salad with orange juice and then for desert the chocolate brownie and a latte. Afterwards we braved the elements - it didn't rain but it was a little chilly because of the wind. We flew a kite. I can now say that I have flown a kite on devil's dyke. Strangely enough I think the french word for 'kite' translates literally as 'flying stag'... don't quote me on that one though.

After the kite flying we went back into town (a third bus - getting our money's worth!) and I needed an internet café to find out how oh how I was going to get to Bournemouth from Hove going via Hampden Park (in completely the opposite direction (I needed to pick up my portfolio from the CELTA course I did last year at Sussex Downs College)) the next day. I finally found an internet café that was open at 19h on Sunday and plonked myself down only to be tormented by the National Rail webpage. 45 minutes later not only did I have a route mapped out, I also had a not too beautiful (and later to prove not too helpful) hand drawn map of how to get from Bournemouth train station to where I needed to go - The Richard Language College.

The next morning (Monday) I set of at 8h10. I walked to Hove train station and caught a train to Brighton where I changed. I caught a second train to Lewes where I changed again to a train going to Ore. I, however, got off at Hampden Park and walked the 20 minutes to Sussex Downs College. The memories of the 4 stressful, busy weeks I spent there last summer doing my CELTA course came back. I walked into the college and my feet automatically guided me to my Tutor's office. We sat and had a chat which was nice and I picked up my portfolio. I left at about 10h20 to go back to Hampden Park Station where I asked which ticket would be best to buy for getting to Bournemouth but coming back not to Hampden Park but to Hove. At the time it made perfect sense when she sold me a Hampden Park - Bournemouth via Clapham Junction return and then a single from Lewes to Hove. Later on however I would prove to be completely mystified about how that could ever be logical. I caught the 11h train to London Victoria getting off at Clapham Junction (which is, according the the sign, Britain's busiest train station and is also similar in it's dreadful layout to Birmingham New Street in that all the platforms come off of one long corridor) where I was supposed to change to go to Bournemouth. A glance at the board told me trains heading to Bournemouth left from platform 9. When I arrived at platform 9 I read the sign for the train that was just pulling in: 'Take the first two carriages for... take the second two carriages for... and take the last two carriages for...' trouble was Bournemouth wasn't listed anywhere. Hmm, I decided to ask and was told to change at Woking. So on the train I got. but there were no onboard announcements, there was no scrolling thing at the end of the carriage displaying where the train would stop. Which carriage did I need to be in to stop at Woking?! I sat down and waited for the first stop which, I was able to see from looking out of the window, was Woking. I got off. I then changed and finally got a train going to Bournemouth. When I arrived I got out my hand drawn map... which didn't help me at all. I had a 50/50 chance - I either turn right or left out of the station - my map was of no help so I gambled and went left. Hindsight can be said to be a lovely thing, it can also be said to be the most useless thing in the universe. I should have of course turned right! A good hour after having left Bournemouth's station, after having asked goodness knows only how many people later, I finally arrived at the Richard Language College. I went in and the girl on reception asked whether she could help me. I said I was due to start working there next Monday. She went and told the Principal that I was there. (We'd arranged by e-mail I'd pop in on the Monday in the late afternoon). I heard him say 'could you look after her please, I'm not ready'. She asked me whether I'd like a drink, she showed me the toilets, gave me a guided tour and then sat me down with a prospectus - she was good at her job! Finally the Principal could squeeze me in! I walked away with somewhere to live and an unsigned contract to read over. It took me less than 10 minutes to get back to the station and it was at this point I realised I should have turned right rather than left upon arrival, never mind. I looked at the departing trains and saw the one to Clapham Junction wasn't for another 45 minutes. I decided it'd be quicker to get the train to Southampton Central and then change to a train going directly to Hove. I changed at Southampton Central but as I was sitting on the train I realised my ticket was specifically for the Clapham Junction route. I then tried to work out how exactly my tickets for the return journey worked. I had a Bournemouth to Hampden Park single via Clapham Junction and then a Lewes to Hove single. How was I supposed to get from Hampden Park to Lewes?! I couldn't make it make sense, and to think it had all been so clear when she'd sold me the ticket ealier in the day! I sat on the train dreading the ticket inspector coming. When he did come I wondered how I was going to explain being nowhere near Clapham Junction and not heading in direction of either Hampden Park or Lewes. Luckily he didn't bat an eyelid and just moved on to the next passenger! I arrived back at Amanda's just after 12 hours after I'd left. Again, she provided tea, except this time it'd been only 12 tealess hours rather than 3 tealess weeks!

The following day I was due to catch the 13h51 train to go back up to Ludlow. I went with Amanda to a french café for breakfast and then popped into Brighton to do some shopping. I spent some time in Oxfam before carting my one just about moveable suitcase, my backpack and two large hand bags to the train station. I stopped with Amanda for lunch and ended up catching the 15h51 train to London Victoria where I got the circle line of the underground to Paddington. That was hard. Londoners are unforgiving people. I was laden down with baggage, I could barely shift my suitcase let alone carry the thing up and down stairs but yet still people pushed past, not offering to help. When I got onto a crowded train at Paddington I felt lucky to find a seat and well, collapsed into it. I changed at Newport and then got off at Ludlow. Again, exhausted.

So, in the past week or so I've been to 3 countries, taken a plane, caught 12 trains and slept in 4 beds. I haven't stood still. And it's not over yet as next Monday I'm starting a new job. In Bournemouth!