A Day of Many Things

Feb 11

John did not expect a day that would be filled with such diversity of things. So, this will be a long one!

Once again, he felt well. He had talked to Gail the night before and they had had a good conversation.

This morning, like the last one, was frosty and icy as it had snowed the day before and overnight but there was blue in the sky. John had not expected this kind of weather. He had predicted that it would be overcast with light drizzle every day. So, this was a nice surprise.

And because it was icy, John thought.... Well, truthfully, John didn't think! He decided it would be a good day to go out for a drive. The sunny sky filled him with confidence and he still has a full tank of gas that he doesn't seem to be able to use up and he doesn't want to take the car back with a lot more fuel than he started because it is very expensive here (1.11 pounds per litre). Furthermore, Alan (in Kent's) GPS phone, called a SatNav here, would bring him back to Linda's no matter where he went. And he drives through Canadian winters, doesn't he?

After having breakfast and tea, he went out to look over the car's controls more carefully. Once again he was impressed with the little car. The only control that still stymied him were the two levers (the turn indicator is where the winshield wipers should be and vice versa - many times on the way here John had told the other traffic that he was changing lanes by turning on the wipers).

So he set out to see the countryside, stop the car in picturesque locations and take some beautiful video. He turned right coming out of the subdivision. He doesn't know why he chose right but it took him to one of the villages. As he drove he noticed there were fairly big trucks parked wherever it was convenient for them and the cars and other trucks had to take turns passing by. Well, that was ok. He motored on and the road led to the A12. Ok, John thought, it would be nice to see the divided highway on a good day and practice handling the car where there was a lot of room. He headed towards London, intending to take an off ramp somewhere to see the countryside.

Everything was smooth and John's confidence rose even higher. Smiling, he took an off ramp near Chelmsford and drove away from the city. For those who know the area, he thinks it was the A414 towards Maldon, another famous British fighter base in WW2. He came to a nice little village but the SatNav didn't seem to be working. The battery wasn't dead but the screen kept telling him it couldn't connect to the Internet. So, he stopped and turned it off and then on again and all was once again, fine.

Strangely, since it was programmed to go to Linda's, it did not tell John to turn back the way he had come but rather to continue on the road. Good, John thought, this little device is very clever. He drove through a country lane that gave him spectacular vistas but had no, and I mean, NO shoulder. The road was lower than land it ran through. Right beside each narrow lane was a metre or so of grass on land (the edge shaped like a cliff) one foot or more higher than the road itself so you could not drive up onto it. And right next to that were the hedgerows. John realized that he really couldn't stop to take video. So he drove on a little disappointed but still enjoying his time.

The GPS told him to turn right. No problem. The sign should have warned him when it said, "One Lane Road with Passing Bays." But the map said it was only 0.3 miles back to the A414. No worries. John just hoped he wouldn't meet another car and have to back up to the closest passing bay. And he would only go 30.

The A414 was closer and closer. He went over a ridge and there in front of him down in the hollow ahead was a white car sitting in the road and a tow truck hoisting a van onto its bed. He hit the brakes.... nothing. He hit them again.... Nothing! He was getting closer and closer. Too close! He stood on the brakes and realized that the ABS brakes WERE working, chattering down the sheet of ice that called itself a road.

His car stopped close enough for John to see the many rust marks on the other car.

Once stopped he thought he might wait the minute until the van was hoisted but then realized no one was sitting in the car in front. It was just a barrier to stop other cars from crashing into the tow truck. And the tow truck did not seem to be making any progress towards hoisting the van. So John turned in the driveway of a lovely house and went back. The GPS had him turn right back onto the original road and it intersected the A414. He needn't have even had his close encounter of the vehicular kind. Shaken, but not stirred, John continued on.

(note from TRB to John: Stop with the stupid jokes when you're dictating!)

The A414 led him back to the A12 and he decided he would follow it but take a slight diversion to a village where his two uncles and families had lived. But first he had to pass through the village closest to Linda's where it was narrow, so he took a turn left to try to bypass the main road. OMG, the streets were half the width of the main road with cars parked on both sides and there was still traffic.

No one blew their horn at John but he did see angry looking drivers who seemed to be shouting in their cars at him. Let's just say they had faces like pitbulls chewing wasps. John realized that because of his extra care he was probably adding 10 seconds to their various journeys. This sort of bad impatience behind the wheel is a bad British trait. They even have TV commercials about it asking people what would life be like if people teated each other the same way when walking.

Anyway, he was soon back on the main road in the village weaving in between the delivery vans parked everywhere. He took the turn to the village and set off cross country again. Once again, it was pretty and he thought of one of his late uncle Stan who had been the volunteer fire chief and who must have ridden these roads - and of the memorable time in 1960 when he took John and his Dad on a drive in his car and had let John turn on the siren.

He arrived in the village and facing him was a huge transfer trailer of the size they have in Australia blocking 80% of the narrow road. John thought, "I just can't win!" as he drove on the sidewalk within centimetres of a house to pass by. He saw a sign to the other village close to Linda's and followed it, arriving back determined to tell the world his story.

He spent much of the afternoon with John and Bella. He videoed them and showed them what they look like "on TV". They turned out to be, like most English chidren, natural stars and were able to easily follow his director's instructions. Along with Linda they went to a playground in the chill wind. Josh turned out to be an expert climber though not quite four and both enjoyed the slide. The two had so much fun that they resisted leaving although it was getting much too cold for them to stay in the biting wind from the North Sea. Bella resisted loudly and sat on the ground. Linda had to pick her up in her harness before she would walk again.

Bac kn the warm, Susan, on his Mum's side called to say that she had to cancel lunch for Friday as David, her partner, was ill. He had come back from a work trip with a virus with the exact symptoms as John had experienced when arriving here. They had a great conversation and agreed to stay in touch from now on by telephone was well as email.

Soon, Snowy came home. Now John has forgotten to tell you of Snowy, Linda and Nigel's pet white West Highland Terrier. She is a lovely dog but loves to play and roll in the mud and so she does not look snowy often! hahaha She had been out to get shampooed and clipped and was stunning when she arrived home. The video below shows her.



Linda told John that his cousin Dennis was picking him up to take him to dinner at his house. Dennis arrived just after Rachel had come and picked up John and Bella and they set out.

It was great, John thought, to let someone else drive, as Dennis confidently and quickly negotiated all obstacles. Dennis volunteers with a service that helps people in the wee hours on the weekends - they work with with the ambulance service and help people who are hurt, sick on the street, drunk, homeless, whatever. He volunteers one overnight every month.

They went to the best Fish and Chip shop in the city where Dennis lives and Dennis bought cod and chips. When they arrived at Dennis's home he took John in to meet his wife Adele, and their two children, Lillie and Joel (named after John's Dad). What a charming family! Both children are intelligent, creative and obviously filled with talent, enthusisam, and curiosity about everything. John did not ask their ages but thinks that Lillie is in her last year of elementary school and Joel is a couple of years younger.

Adele makes greeting cards and John asked he if she could make one for him to give to Linda as Feb 12 is Linda's birthday. She graciously agreed. Although they said they would not take John's money, he insisted because the resulting card would not be a gift from him to Linda if he had not paid for it. Adele reluctantly agreed to acdept payment.

They sat down to dinner. John had a big piece of fried cod with home made french fries and mushy peas. John had never had mushy peas before but they talk about them on Coronation Street so he had wondered. Adele had them, along with regular peas, and salad. Dennis said you have to have them with mint for them to be good. They WERE good. John was stuffed at the end of dinner.

Joel showed John his room and his lego. He is really into lego these days and Lillie told John about her school and what is happening there. Along with Dennis they headed up to the attic where Adele makes her cards and they showed John all kinds of neat stuff - including a bow and arrow that Dennis bought from apygmy hunter when he spent nine months driving from England all the way to South Africa many years ago.

The interaction with the children was wonderful as they did their best to make John feel welcome. The only being not entirely convinced of John's good intentions was Barney, their wire haired dachshund. He was very friendly and liked to be stroked but guarded John, and his toes, closely.

After dinner they talked about a lot of things like Internet Safety, what Canada is like, what is going on in their lives and they saw where John lives using Google Earth.

Adele had by now made the card and was putting on the last bit of decoration when Linda and Nigel came to pick John up. How can we transfer the card without Linda seeing, ran through John's mind. Dennis had given John the previous weekend'a newspaper with a story of a man whose father had gone to BC some fifty years ago. When John was getting up to put on his jacket and shoes he dropped the paper onto Adele's lap as if he was giving it back. She instantly knew what he was doing and deftly slipped the card into the paper and folded the paper up. As they were leaving she gave him the folded newspaper back. John was pleased that their exchange had worked so well. Linda did not seem to notice anything amiss. It was hugs and handshakes goodbye and John was off in the comptent hands of Nigel, driving with the same confidence as Dennis had before.

After arriving back at Linda's, John had tea and big piece of low fat fruitcake before heading off to bed thankful for such an awesome day.

TRB