MAIN » ARTICLESTraveling in 2007, part one
June 18th
Whilst May saw the exam period up in Dundee and the subsequent return from Scotland to, what promised to be, a very sunny period in the East of England. It was an early start to summer for me, and I saw a lazy few weeks ahead, sitting outside in my garden enjoying the sunshine and catching up on some recreational reading. And so it was, on and off, with the predictably unpredictable weather playing its part, throwing a few “curve-balls” (apparently this is a baseball term, I’m still not sure) and raining during sunny spells and warming up when clouds were forecast. I soon remembered I had to earn some money and a timely call from the job agency at Ipswich Hospital woke me up from my reveries and jerked me violently back to reality. I took a job working full days in the Cardiology department and today was the first day of my second week back at the grind. Most days I work deliberately slowly, pondering over menial tasks and taking a break whenever I can to contemplate over what I’ll be spending my earnings on when the 2 weeks have finished (I decided a while back 2 weeks would probably be enough, and I’m sticking by it. It always seems so much harder to turn up for another week when you know you could be taking it easy before a trip to Turkey).
So this diary will eventually be published on TON and describe the ups and downs of at least 3 trips abroad. Low-key, and more organised, than the frantic dash around Europe and Central America in 2006, I plan to first attend the aforementioned lad’s holiday to Turkey and then a family two-weeker to the Algarve before jetting off again almost immediately to lounge about in Southern France for a while. I can’t wait. Until then, it’s back to work at 9am tomorrow and time to make use of my newly acquired “Smart Card”, which I was ‘trained’ to use this very afternoon. Now I know how to open menus and log in, which quite frankly is a relief, as that kind of thing can really slow a temporary worker down.
(For those of you reading this who love a bit of trivia, the NHS smart cards at the hospital were once issued personally by a very competent David Randall.)
June 21st
One day of work left and I’m starting to feel the relief wash over me like a Mediterranean tidal wave at sunset. It’s beautiful.
June 29th
The first holiday/break of the year is not so many hours away now. Even from my seat here on the edge of the community, near the roundabout with the KFC and the Subway, y’know, near Ransome’s? I can feel the palpable excitement amongst those going. It’s on the tip of every tongue and throbbing through veins like crack on a Saturday night. In short, I’m sure everybody who is going is now looking forward to it and not beyond.
Other than packing I have little to do but pick up my Irish friend from Dundee: Cathal Dolan. None of the boys have met Cathal yet and some are already having trouble pronouncing his name despite me insisting they forget about it and just use the anglophile approximation (Carl). Namely James. That little trip to Stansted is happening tomorrow evening and then it’s one last blast out on the town before a relaxing Sunday build-up to the party bus at 2am Monday. ‘The book’ is ready, I’ve started to pack and there is little else to say until the return. May it be a good one.
July 13th
Friday 13th, and apart from somebody on IRC complaining about buying non-alcoholic beer by mistake, it seems to be more ordinary than auspicious. The recovery from the Turkish trip, undocumented in this article, is going well and this evening marks the first Community Football session since the return. It’s longer than I thought until the two weeks in Portugal so I’m starting to think I need something to fill up the time. A few days camping in Wales perhaps or lazy days reading in the patio section of TON HQ. Probably both. The wild and wet weather England has been enjoying this summer continues now again, mostly replaced by cloud-interrupted sunshine and the occasional warmth soaked up by wooden benches and the concrete floor. After all this disappointment, the weather gods owe us an Indian summer. Though it begs the question, do they have jurisdiction in Scotland?
July 22nd
A reflective look back on the past few days away from home:
Friday July 18th - I was up at 9am on a fairly bright day in East Anglia to refresh myself with a glass of orange juice and some toast before we were to set off across England to Wales. The plan was to travel at breakneck speed in an 18-year-old Fiesta from Ipswich to Dolgellau in Snowdonia for 3 nights camping in the heart of Snowdonia national park. I would need all the vitamin C I could get my hands on. The journey began smoothly and soon we were cruising down the A14 towards Birmingham as the day gradually warmed up. By the time we arrived in Wales the sun was out to play and summer had greeted us with an amusingly accented regional accent. After a quick lunch at Corley services (did you know they have 2 KFCs and 2 Burger Kings here?) we skirted around the conglomeration of cities so hard to avoid in this part of England and began the final leg towards Snowdonia and the home of Britain’s third highest mountain. The scenery, whether it was merely an illusion based on expectations or not, seemed to improve noticeably once we left Shrewsbury and entered Welshpool, no doubt underlined considerably by the drab and depressing midlands I was now desperate to leave to behind.
The campsite, an hour’s winding road journey away from Snowden was sparsely populated when we arrived allowing us to choose a desirable location on a lower field on the bank of a fast-flowing river. The thought of flooding never occurred to me at this point and we set up with enthusiasm and some vigorous tent pegging from myself. By this time, over 4 hours in a car had got me into the mood for some serious drinking so after opening another can of beer I scanned the site and our recently-erected tent with hazy satisfaction. The warm evening sun ventured not onto my picnic bench by the river, but a slight chill wasn’t enough to ruin the sense of relaxation and peace that comes with sipping a lager on a bench in a field in the middle of Wales. After a bbq, lots of meat, a failed attempt to start a camp fire and a couple of Scrabble games it was time for bed. I won’t dwell on sleeping in a tent as this is never a pleasant experience for me, especially after 6 cans of beer and that insistent urge to repeatedly visit the bathroom.
Saturday July 19th -
To be continued…
Written by Jay.
Whilst May saw the exam period up in Dundee and the subsequent return from Scotland to, what promised to be, a very sunny period in the East of England. It was an early start to summer for me, and I saw a lazy few weeks ahead, sitting outside in my garden enjoying the sunshine and catching up on some recreational reading. And so it was, on and off, with the predictably unpredictable weather playing its part, throwing a few “curve-balls” (apparently this is a baseball term, I’m still not sure) and raining during sunny spells and warming up when clouds were forecast. I soon remembered I had to earn some money and a timely call from the job agency at Ipswich Hospital woke me up from my reveries and jerked me violently back to reality. I took a job working full days in the Cardiology department and today was the first day of my second week back at the grind. Most days I work deliberately slowly, pondering over menial tasks and taking a break whenever I can to contemplate over what I’ll be spending my earnings on when the 2 weeks have finished (I decided a while back 2 weeks would probably be enough, and I’m sticking by it. It always seems so much harder to turn up for another week when you know you could be taking it easy before a trip to Turkey).
So this diary will eventually be published on TON and describe the ups and downs of at least 3 trips abroad. Low-key, and more organised, than the frantic dash around Europe and Central America in 2006, I plan to first attend the aforementioned lad’s holiday to Turkey and then a family two-weeker to the Algarve before jetting off again almost immediately to lounge about in Southern France for a while. I can’t wait. Until then, it’s back to work at 9am tomorrow and time to make use of my newly acquired “Smart Card”, which I was ‘trained’ to use this very afternoon. Now I know how to open menus and log in, which quite frankly is a relief, as that kind of thing can really slow a temporary worker down.
(For those of you reading this who love a bit of trivia, the NHS smart cards at the hospital were once issued personally by a very competent David Randall.)
June 21st
One day of work left and I’m starting to feel the relief wash over me like a Mediterranean tidal wave at sunset. It’s beautiful.
June 29th
The first holiday/break of the year is not so many hours away now. Even from my seat here on the edge of the community, near the roundabout with the KFC and the Subway, y’know, near Ransome’s? I can feel the palpable excitement amongst those going. It’s on the tip of every tongue and throbbing through veins like crack on a Saturday night. In short, I’m sure everybody who is going is now looking forward to it and not beyond.
Other than packing I have little to do but pick up my Irish friend from Dundee: Cathal Dolan. None of the boys have met Cathal yet and some are already having trouble pronouncing his name despite me insisting they forget about it and just use the anglophile approximation (Carl). Namely James. That little trip to Stansted is happening tomorrow evening and then it’s one last blast out on the town before a relaxing Sunday build-up to the party bus at 2am Monday. ‘The book’ is ready, I’ve started to pack and there is little else to say until the return. May it be a good one.
July 13th
Friday 13th, and apart from somebody on IRC complaining about buying non-alcoholic beer by mistake, it seems to be more ordinary than auspicious. The recovery from the Turkish trip, undocumented in this article, is going well and this evening marks the first Community Football session since the return. It’s longer than I thought until the two weeks in Portugal so I’m starting to think I need something to fill up the time. A few days camping in Wales perhaps or lazy days reading in the patio section of TON HQ. Probably both. The wild and wet weather England has been enjoying this summer continues now again, mostly replaced by cloud-interrupted sunshine and the occasional warmth soaked up by wooden benches and the concrete floor. After all this disappointment, the weather gods owe us an Indian summer. Though it begs the question, do they have jurisdiction in Scotland?
July 22nd
A reflective look back on the past few days away from home:
Friday July 18th - I was up at 9am on a fairly bright day in East Anglia to refresh myself with a glass of orange juice and some toast before we were to set off across England to Wales. The plan was to travel at breakneck speed in an 18-year-old Fiesta from Ipswich to Dolgellau in Snowdonia for 3 nights camping in the heart of Snowdonia national park. I would need all the vitamin C I could get my hands on. The journey began smoothly and soon we were cruising down the A14 towards Birmingham as the day gradually warmed up. By the time we arrived in Wales the sun was out to play and summer had greeted us with an amusingly accented regional accent. After a quick lunch at Corley services (did you know they have 2 KFCs and 2 Burger Kings here?) we skirted around the conglomeration of cities so hard to avoid in this part of England and began the final leg towards Snowdonia and the home of Britain’s third highest mountain. The scenery, whether it was merely an illusion based on expectations or not, seemed to improve noticeably once we left Shrewsbury and entered Welshpool, no doubt underlined considerably by the drab and depressing midlands I was now desperate to leave to behind.
The campsite, an hour’s winding road journey away from Snowden was sparsely populated when we arrived allowing us to choose a desirable location on a lower field on the bank of a fast-flowing river. The thought of flooding never occurred to me at this point and we set up with enthusiasm and some vigorous tent pegging from myself. By this time, over 4 hours in a car had got me into the mood for some serious drinking so after opening another can of beer I scanned the site and our recently-erected tent with hazy satisfaction. The warm evening sun ventured not onto my picnic bench by the river, but a slight chill wasn’t enough to ruin the sense of relaxation and peace that comes with sipping a lager on a bench in a field in the middle of Wales. After a bbq, lots of meat, a failed attempt to start a camp fire and a couple of Scrabble games it was time for bed. I won’t dwell on sleeping in a tent as this is never a pleasant experience for me, especially after 6 cans of beer and that insistent urge to repeatedly visit the bathroom.
Saturday July 19th -
To be continued…
Written by Jay.