Disorientation

I fell asleep in front of the TV tonight, and when I woke up I was convinced that it was Tuesday evening and that I had slept through an entire day.  Then I was convinced that it was Tuesday morning and that I had slept for an entire 12 hours.  And then I realized that in fact I had only fallen asleep for a couple of hours and it was still Monday evening.  What a ride.  And what an anticlimax.     

Holiday

Not for the first time, I think I really need a holiday after a holiday.  I am still feeling utterly out of sync with everything.  I suspect the week ahead with work is not going to be very easy.  At least I shouldn't be as busy as I feared - one of the tasks I was supposed to be working on has been canceled.  But then another urgent request has come up - so maybe not.  But considering I was off work for over 3 weeks, I was surprised that the number of unread emails I had was as low as it was.  A not particularly promising sign about how important and irreplaceable I am.   

Jet Lag

Jet lag hit me hard today.  It started with being unable to get any sleep last night.  I simply wasn't tired.  But then over the course of the day, I've just had no energy.  And it's affected everything from my meals (I haven't had anything to eat this evening), to not being able to get anything done (I've got a list of things I need to do this weekend that I've still got so much to get through), to not being able to concentrate on anything.  So much for my hope of watching some of the few shows that I recorded while I was away.  As I write this now, at about 10.30 pm, I am feeling really tired.  I suspect I will be able to fall asleep very quickly.  But it will probably be a deep but short sleep, and I'll be wide awake again very early in the morning - well before sunrise.  Less than ideal, and in my experience it could be like this for a while. 

Thank You

I just want to take this opportunity to thank the people that hosted me during my stay in the UK.  To S and E in Manchester, where I had a great time and made a new young friend.  And of course my Mum, who had to put up with my presence for way too long.  I hope I didn't disturb your routines too much!  As much as I love my Mum, I don't always show it - especially because staying with her sometimes brings out the worst in me.  I don't always agree with everything she does, but I guess you can't teach an old dog new tricks - so I do my best to bite my tongue, not always successfully.  But I appreciate that both the dog and the garden take priority, and if those routines keep her busy and work successfully for her - then the last thing I want to do is disturb that.  After all, she will probably outlive me!

Home

I'm back in the US.  Or should I say back home?  Or is the UK my home and the US just my residence?  Hmmm, that is one to ponder.  Anyway, a bit of a nightmare journey back.  Starting with an unexpected overweight fee on my luggage.  I didn't think I brought back that much more than what I brought into the UK, after all it's not like crisps weigh a lot.  So I really question whether the scales at the airport were calibrated correctly.  And then we were stuck on the runway for an hour and a half before we could take off - thanks to some heavy rain near Heathrow.  Basically the only time it rained in my entire 3 week stay.  But I've made it back in one piece.  Despite it probably being close to 24 hours that I've been awake now - between waking up early this morning (UK time), not sleeping on the flight, and the time difference meaning the sun still hasn't set on the Thursday evening here yet.  The longer I can stay awake, the better chance I'll have of overcoming any jet lag.  It normally hits me bad when I return to the US, but I'm feeling OK right now.

Insect Bites

My last post before I fly back to the US.  And with typical timing, at some point yesterday some insect got me good.  I've got bites on both my legs and on one of my arms.  And these are not just any small bites, but have turned into these large red welts.  Quite painful, and extremely itchy.  Between these and the various rashes I've had, this trip has not been good for my skin.  I am really starting to show my age.  Especially compared to a photo I saw of myself today from 25 years ago, when I looked so young and healthy.  The ravages of time... sobering.     

Hampton Court Palace

A final excursion today - to Hampton Court Palace.  And this makes for an extremely worthy day trip.  I have been here before, but it was a while ago - and I've never been here by myself before.  Between the palace and the gardens, I must have spent about 4 hours there.  It has some terrific history, and some extremely well maintained interiors and exteriors - very photogenic.  And I feel like I could have spent much longer there (if only for perfecting those photos).  I was supposed to go for a walk after visiting the palace (to Hampton village) but it was too hot and I was too tired so I'll have to do that another time.  It didn't help that the walk takes you through an entrance to the palace that is no longer open, so requires a considerable detour.  But I did plenty of walking just from completing most of the routes in the audio guides (free with entry), having already done a lot of the same routes without the audio guide but wanting to see the main sights before it started getting too busy.  And it definitely does get increasingly busier throughout the day (I read online that it was recommended to get there around 1 pm to avoid the crowds - but I couldn't disagree more, and I was glad to be there not long after opening time). 

British Television

A few shows I've caught whilst I've been back:

Celebrity Hunted: not exactly a star-studded celebrity line-up.  The only person I recognized was Brain Conley - and he feels like a relic from a bygone era (Larry the Loafer anyone?!).

University Challenge: I never used to know any of the answers.  Now I don't even understand some of the questions.  My brain has officially been Americanized.

Gogglebox: I've been watching this quite a bit, even episodes from several years ago.  Mainly because it features a lot of clips from British shows that I've never seen, so I quite enjoy seeing what shows were in the zeitgeist. 

Ann Droid: fairly funny, but don't see how this can be a sustainable show

Rapture: not bad, kind of intriguing premise but felt like quintessential small-scale British drama and sort of fizzled out

Sharpe: caught some old episodes of Sharpe - classic 90's show.  Still entertaining, if a little dated

Dad's Army: classic comedy, always watchable

Are You Being Served: this has aged very badly

Luther: now this was a very good show

The Great British Sewing Bee: a far less entertaining version of The Great British Bake Off.

Sunday Roast

One last Sunday roast today before I head back to the US.  You just don't get them in the US - or at least not in the Pacific NW (at least on the American side, I suspect I might have better luck if I go north of the border).  Which is a tragedy.  It is right up there as one of the British meals I miss the most (so having 3 of them over the last 3 weekends is a true pleasure).  I think the only way I could ever have it back home would be to cook it myself.  And I fear that is beyond my culinary abilities.  Though if I get desperate, perhaps I should at least try.

No Film Review

Well, I hoped to tell you about how much I enjoyed (or didn't enjoy, though I suspect I will like it) watching The Odyssey on a big IMAX screen.  But alas, I never got to see it.  I did another London walk this morning and gave myself plenty of time to get to the Science Museum (over an hour).  What I hadn't accounted for was the fact that the Piccadilly line and District/Circle line all had engineering work going on that meant it was impossible to get to the museum by tube.  By the time I had realized this by trying to get there via several different, infrequent and crowded routes, it was too late to get there by any other means.  I can maybe blame myself for not checking for any underground engineering work this weekend in advance and planning accordingly (e.g. what bus or walking route to take).  It perhaps also explains why there were so many more available tickets for screenings this weekend than for any other days.  I thought about trying to see if I could get a standby ticket for a screening at the BFI, since it is right by Waterloo where I was catching a train back.  But nope, my enthusiasm for going to watch the film had evaporated by now.  I was sweaty and fed up and done with London for the day (and maybe also for this UK trip).  I'll watch it at home when it comes out on streaming. 

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

A trip today to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.  Convenient because it's a direct train.  And this does make a worthy day trip.  I was there for about 4 hours, and could easily have spent another 4 hours there.  The remains of the Mary Rose, HMS Victory, HMS Warrior - plus a bunch of other historic ships.  If you like your naval history, you'll love it here.  I have been here before - it must have been not long after my parents moved to Surrey because I went with both of them.  But that was a long time ago (I can't find a blog entry for it), and it was worth revisiting again.  Despite the extortionate entrance fee.  But my ticket is valid for a year, so if I'm back in the UK at Christmas (and that is a big if, since I'm having some second thoughts about whether I want to/need to/am prepared to shell out on another trip back this year) then I might well come back.  

Costco

My first time going to a UK Costco today, and I'm not going to lie - it was disappointing.  It was practically the same as a US store.  Similar layout, similar products, similar confusion as to why so many people love this place.  I don't really know what I was expecting from a UK version of the store - certainly a lot more British stuff, the kind of stuff that you can get at British supermarkets.  But nope, it was nothing special and there was very little that I couldn't get in the US.  Though I did notice that they had an 85" Samsung TV on sale for what seemed like a remarkably good deal.  That was kind of depressing to think about as I'm probably going to pay about 3 times more on a new (and smaller) TV in the US before the end of the year.  There must have been a catch - I wonder what it was.  Maybe it was just the floor model on sale?  I don't know.  I always thought electronics were cheaper in the US, but maybe that's not the case anymore. 

50

A significant milestone.  The half century.  When I Google it, the AI Overview states "Turning 50 is a major life milestone that marks the start of a new decade.  Many people celebrate with a big party or a special trip, while others use the time to focus on health, personal goals, and new habits.".  Far be it for me to criticize AI, but that sounds like any other birthday.  And as with any other birthday, I didn't really do anything special because I don't care to celebrate getting even older.  Especially considering how badly my body has failed me in coping with the heat during this trip.  But I did go out for a meal with my Mum today (that I paid for!) - does that count as a big party?  And I suppose the fact that I'm here rather than in the US does mean I have "celebrated" with a special trip.  Perhaps the AI is right.  All hail our artificial overlords.  

Dulwich

A random excursion today to Dulwich, an affluent suburb in South London.  A number of celebrities own homes here, for example Jason Statham and Tom Cruise.  And from my brief 4 mile foray, it did seem like a perfectly pleasant area.  But as I cross off some of the few remaining London walks in my book, the walks do tend to be a bit more obscure and less photogenic.  This was definitely one of those.  Most unusually, I hardly took any photos at all during this walk.  There just weren't that many "sights" in this walk, it was just a nice neighborhood stroll.  And for that reason, I'm not sure the walk justified the cost of traveling to Dulwich.  Which is a shame.  I don't want to think like that, but this was also another walk where I was suffering in the heat.  I don't know what is going on - I seem to be sweating profusely whenever I go out.  I don't have this issue in the US.  I think I need to get some better antiperspirant.        

British Food

Of the many things I miss most from the UK (though I have to admit that this list has somewhat shrunk over time as I've gradually become assimilated to the US), food is definitely up there.  Nothing beats a good fish n chips, a good curry, and a good Sunday roast.  And I've had all of them already on this trip.  Add to that the sweets (candy), the sandwiches (America doesn't really do good bread), the pastries (sweet and savory, that America doesn't do at all) and crisps (of which I have to take back loads to the US - though I've definitely noticed the decrease in size and contents of crisp bags).  Plus all the other little things that I cannot get, or at least cannot easily or cheaply get, in the US.  Thanks to my new suitcase, I've got a bit more room to take back more British food from this trip.  So now I need to decide how best to use that space...     

British Rail

After a very pleasant few days in Manchester, it was time to journey back to the SE.  My train set off on time from Manchester, but encountered some significant delays in the Midlands due to overhead power line issues, and arrived in London about 45 minutes late.  Not a big deal.  But I found myself once again struggling in the heat - the heat of a not very well cooled train, and the small but significant increase in temperature between Manchester and London.  I was able to get home on time, despite the 45 minute delay, because I was able to navigate London Euston, the London Underground and Waterloo very quickly to get the train I needed back out to Surrey.  But even rushing through it, I saw how busy Euston was.  It looked like a nightmare.  And apparently there were some serious disruptions today - and I was maybe very fortunate not to be as badly affected as apparently a lot of other people were by it.  I'm glad I went to Durham when I did, because the London-Durham line was the one that was blocked today.  Not a good sign when LNER - the operator of that line - advised passengers not to travel today.  Yikes.

Lyme Park

I'm in Manchester now.  And we went to Lyme Park today - a National Trust estate in the Peak District in Cheshire.  But it is perhaps better known as the location where Mr Darcy met Miss Bennett in BBC's Pride and Prejudice.  Hence why lots of people (mainly foreign tourists) were dressed up in period costume.  On a summertime weekend, this place was about as busy as you might expect.  But away from the crowds around the house and gardens, there were great views - including a great view of Manchester - to be had.

Durham

Just spent an overnight stay in Durham, and I have some thoughts on the city.  Possibly controversial.  I think Durham is overrated.  I've been to lots of cathedral cities over the last few years, and Durham Cathedral was nowhere near the best of them.  And there was very little to see of the castle on the self-guided tour.  With Durham Castle and Cathedral being recognized on the UNESCO World Heritage Site, I really expected so much more.  And beyond the castle and cathedral, there didn't seem to be much to the city.  Apart from enormous crowds of tourists.  I never really considered Durham seriously as somewhere I might have gone to study.  I'm glad I didn't go.  The city center seemed small (much smaller than, say, Bath) and I'm not sure it has much to offer to the student - especially with it's pretensions to be a Northern Oxford or Cambridge (both of which are far superior places).  Of course, maybe my opinion has been soured by visiting over a couple of incredibly hot days - and I've been suffering in the heat, sweating a lot more than I normally would and not really having a good time of it.  But when I compare Durham to somewhere like York, I think York is a much nicer and better place to visit.  

Excursions and Photos

I am falling behind in posting some photos.  I have some from when I went to Fishbourne Roman Palace and Chichester Cathedral a few days ago.  And I arrived in Durham today, so I have a few more photos - though the bulk will come tomorrow when I take tours of the castle and cathedral.  But I've encountered a problem.  My Chromebook is running into issues decoding all the photos when I plug my phone into it.  A known compatibility issue with file types (Chromebooks can't always handle the HEIC format used on the iPhone).  I arrived earlier than I thought today - so while waiting until I could check in, I thought I could sort through some of my photos over a pint.  That is when I encountered the issue, which is extremely frustrating.  So I don't know when I will next post some photos.  I might have to start posting blogs about places I've been, and add photos later.  Maybe very later.

Partial Eclipse

My attempts to photograph the partial eclipse were about as successful as my attempts to keep my body temperature normal during this heatwave.  Not good (the actual reflection of the eclipse that appears in the lens is better!).  I probably should have tried using better settings.

I've been through a partial eclipse before in the US.  And like before, I enjoy the big drop in lighting and ambient noise.  But without the eclipse glasses, which we didn't have, you can't really see much.  And I don't really consider it to be the spectacular once-in-a-generation event that the BBC liked to describe it as.  Just a rare celestial event - of which there are very many.

Sweets

Rhubarb & Custards.  Check.

Mint humbugs.  Check.

Butter mintoes.  Check.

Lemon sherbets.  Check.

Pear drops.  Nope.  Why aren't these readily available?  I think I'm going to have to go to a specialist sweet shop to get these.  What a pain in the ass.

Barratt fruit salad.  Nope, I haven't seen these either.  Where the hell do I go to get these?  Wait, what - there's a chain called Mr Simms Olde Sweet Shoppe.  And they have a shop in Guildford?  I think I know where I need to go.

Clerkenwell

A few photos from the 2 mile walk I did around Clerkenwell.  An area of London that is, according to my guidebook, rich in historical features.  And although it was nice enough to get away from the crowds and wander around the quieter backstreets of London, this was one of the least photogenic walks I've done from this guidebook.  I wouldn't have known the history if I hadn't read it in the book.  And a lot of it was either destroyed during the Blitz or has been built upon beyond recognition.  For example, there is a medieval well called the Clerk's Well (hence Clerkenwell) - but it is inside an office building and you can only see it by peering through an office window.  Not sure I care for that.  But perhaps this would have been a more pleasant walk if it hadn't been so hot and I hadn't overdone it - as proved subsequently as I am apparently suffering from both a heat rash on my arms and Disney rash (look it up) on my legs.  Yikes.  

RAF Museum

As mentioned, I went to the RAF Museum yesterday.  A somewhat bittersweet experience, because it was one of the last places I was supposed to go with my Dad before his mental health deteriorated, but we never did.  And I think he would have liked it.  Lots of airplanes on display from the 1st and 2nd World Wars, up to the modern day.  I'm not sure a visit to the museum alone would justify a trip into London, but it does make a nice detour on a rainy (or hot!) day and you've got a couple of spare hours.  Here are some photos of some of the airplanes - which I guess some (most) of you might find kind of boring...

Heat

Whenever I come back to the UK, I like to do various excursions into London.  It's been a long time since I've come back to the UK in the peak of summer.  And one of the reasons I don't like it is because it's too hot to do much walking.  Especially after 50 plus days without measurable rainfall, or whatever it is.  I did my first excursion into London today, and it was exhausting.  My main aim was to go to the RAF Museum.  But with the cost of an off-peak one day travel card now at an ungodly amount, I felt I had to get my money's worth so I followed up my museum trip with one of the walks from my book.  And it was a struggle.  I probably tried to do too much in one day.  I need to pace myself a bit better, and make better use of drinks and refreshment - after all, this should be something that London is good for.  With no discernible rainfall in the forecast, I don't think conditions are going to get better any time soon....  I'll aim to post some photos in the upcoming days.      

Godalming

Godalming.  Famous (maybe I should use inverted commas: "Famous") for the world's first public electricity supply and birthplace of Titanic wireless operator Jack Phillips (who went down with the wreck).  And also, as of this year, as the site of the largest Marks & Spencer standalone food hall in the world.  And having walked around this store, you will be blown away.  Not.  It is decidedly unspectacular.  It just seems like it offers the same stuff that you might be able to get at any other M&S store, but spread out a bit more.  And you are actually more likely to notice the things that this store does not offer: clothing, a cafe, even just a toilet.  When you are literally located within view of a Waitrose on one side, and a Sainsbury's on the other, the location is nonsensical.  As is the fact that the store is clearly big enough to sell clothes - something that is majorly lacking in the Godalming area.  Seems like a huge missed opportunity.  What a joke.  I don't think it is sustainable.  

BA BS

I composed this on my Notes app on my phone during the flight yesterday... it is a bit of a moan, so sorry about that.

Although I’m happy to be back in the UK, it was not a pleasant flight here.  I’m utterly fed up with British Airways - when I checked in, I had no seat choice.  A window seat in the corner of the back row of the premium economy section.  A seat that I wasn’t able to change at the airport, despite asking both at the check-in desk and at the gate.  And arguably one of the worst seats in the section (eg too close to the toilets). I blame BA for downgrading my membership tier, so I couldn’t select a seat a week before my flight and instead could only do so a day before.  I notice also that I was never offered a drink before the plane took off.  That was something that I’m sure we got in premium economy before.  BA has gone seriously downhill.  I think this might also be the last time traveling back to the UK in summer.  I hate airports at this time of year.  Too hot, too busy, too crowded.  The terminal was a nightmare - and I was sweating through my clothes as I was walking around.  I clearly didn’t use enough deodorant this morning.  Very unpleasant.  I was on a full flight, and I think this might be the first time I was never asked if I might be interested in paying x amount to upgrade.  Perhaps even the business section was full?  There are clearly way too many people with way too much disposable income in this part of America to be able to afford flying business class.  Anyway, I have got to book flights back for Christmas soon.  I will definitely be considering airlines other than BA for that trip.

I must have written this early on in the flight, because later on I actually noticed there was a free aisle seat in the premium economy section, which is all I asked for.  Which takes the p*ss.  And add to that a massive long wait for my checked bags after breezing through immigration.  Yep, I feel like I might be done with BA (until I find out they have the cheapest priced flights...)  

Blighty

Yep, I've made it back to the UK once again.  Too tired to compose a meaningful post.  But, surprisingly, I think I actually got some decent sleep on the flight over - though in typical airline fashion, it was very fitful sleep.  And don't get me started on British Airways itself.  Let me save that for tomorrow.

Smoke

It seems I've timed my trip back to the UK quite well.  It has been quite nice here, apart from one major exception over the last few days which I'll be glad to leave behind.  And that's the wildfire smoke pouring into our region.  You can noticeably see and smell the smoke in the air.  Does make for some very photogenic orange skies - especially at sunrise and sunset.  But it does mean we have a severe weather alert for air quality.  In addition, it looks like there's a heat advisory tomorrow and Thursday.  Heat and smoke together is a very toxic combination.  I think all the smoke is coming from some big wildfires in the east of the state.  Apparently there have been tens of thousands of forced evacuations around Spokane, with huge areas affected and lots of buildings destroyed.  And that's just one of many.  What makes it worse, the Spokane fire was caused by arson - which is disgusting.  I guess climate change doesn't really matter when you have the idiocy of humanity.   

Trail Cam Fail

Having seen a lot of deer over the last week, I was planning to post some photos from my trail cam today.  But when I went to check it, something was wrong.  Apparently my SD card has crapped out - and my laptop doesn't even recognize it when I plug it in.  And even the trail cam has issues with the SD card.  So there might have been some decent photos captured over the last month or so, but who knows since I cannot access them.  And I have absolutely no idea if and how I can recover them.  Grrrr.   So I had to make an emergency run to Walmart this evening to get a new SD card.  I want to have my trail cam working before I depart.  Another unplanned expense - there seem to have been quite a few of them recently.  

Derailment

A very unsatisfactory day today.  I got up nice and early intending to take the light rail into downtown Seattle.  I wanted to do some shopping, plus take a short ferry ride to Bainbridge Island - somewhere I haven't been to for ages.  But I thought I'd check for any service alerts before I set off - and I'm glad I did because that's when I discovered the big news.  A train had derailed in downtown Seattle last night, and they had shut down all the downtown stations.  So the line was only running to a certain point, and then you had to take a shuttle bus.  That's a big nope from me.  And I didn't really feel like driving downtown and finding somewhere to park.  Especially knowing that without light rail the traffic would be horrendous, even for a Sunday morning.  So I never went in the end.  What bad timing.  So apologies for anyone I might be staying with on my trip back to the UK, since I wasn't able to get you a souvenir.   

Lists

I've got a list of things I need to do before I fly to the UK, a list of things to do when I'm back in the UK, and a list of things I need to do after I fly back from the UK.  I do have a habit of making lists.  Am I just trying to be organized?  Is this a symptom of ADHD or autism?  Or is this a symptom of OCD?  Who knows.  I wouldn't say I compile or complete lists compulsively, but I do like the focus, control and satisfaction of checking off things on a list.  And if I write something down, then at least I don't have to stress about trying to remember it.