August..9th to 28th
England
Sat 9th Aug
My final 2.5 weeks in England before flying to Malaysia. My routine was basically the same.
I went on the 291 bus to Tunbridge Wells, using a visit to NatWest as the excuse. Riding on the top deck through the beautiful countryside is good fun. In T/Wells I went to the converted Opera house for a Spoons coffee.
On the 19th I met up with Graham at the Oxted Spoons. A couple of hours of good conversation; it was nice to see him again. He looked very well for 86..
On Wed the 20th I went to Eastbourne for a few days. I knew I was due a Redemption statement from HSBC, but I couldn’t wait for it to arrive in the post. The bank kindly printed it off there and then, and as I had already drawn the money from my premium bonds, I decided to go ahead and pay off my mortgage.
I popped across the road to Natwest so a bank official could look over my shoulder as I followed the steps. For instance, my bank App said I could only pay a maximum of 2,000 per day but you could pay a one-off much larger figure…which I did. I was almost shaking with excitement that I was about to be mortgage Free. Unbelievable…a saving of over £700 per month for me. I walked to LoCo with a big smile on my face and told Alan my good news when he walked in a few minutes later.
On Thurs 21st I walked over to Peppercombe; it seems to take me a minute or two longer as each year passes !! Well, Mum was in very good form. She only stoops a little when walking, and mentally she is very sharp. I couldn’t stay any longer than 2 hours because she had to have something to eat before going dancing with John. ²
That suited me as I had arranged to meet up with bro Mike at 13:00 at LoCo. After a couple of hours with Mike I walked up to the Crown as they were having a beer festival. All new beers according to Alan; it was fun to have halves to taste a few.
I caught a bus back to Hampden Park and bought a bottle of red wine from Aldi. It was a snacky evening at the house, so cheese and crackers…
Fri 22nd was pretty much the same. Just went straight into town then went to the Crown. It was good to Phil and Louise there; they are old friends of Alan and Karen. I think Alan cooked a delicious fish curry for dinner.
Sat 23rd I caught a slightly later bus to Uckfield, the 11:30. I had an hour and half to kill before the 261 to Forest Row , so I called into the Station pub for a couple of coffees. I was lucky to catch the Spurs vs Man C match, but was only able to watch the first half before I had to leave for my bus.
Then it was back into my daily routine. Except on Sat evening Andy from the Club was having his 60th birthday party from 8pm at the Club. Very tasty assorted snacks and good music. I didn’t dance at all and in fact went back to the house at about 10:15. I watched some football highlights before going to bed.
Sun 24th I caught the 12:00 bus to the Galipot Inn for Judith’s birthday party. It was a fantastic sunny,hot day for the 30 or so guests, and the location was absolutely great. She paid for most or all of the food for everyone and it was a fantastic way to mark her 70th birthday.
Lots of familiar faces and Stuart, Buff and Ray were on hand to provide live music; many of the songs were a throwback to the Jam Band in the Foresters days. I caught the 15:15 bus back to Forest Row with a few other guests.
A quiet afternoon at the Club and then back to the house; I watched football highlights later.
The next few days saw the final preparations for the trip on Thursday. Washing the few clothes to take and leave behind; that meant a couple of visits into the loft to store my ‘things’ until next year. I still took the bus into EG every day for a break. I sent £25 to Joseph in Taveta.
Submitting my MDAC (digital arrival card) on line was problematical/stressful. Eventually, by adding KL after the hotel name, Hotel Sentral, it worked. I had prebooked that hotel, costing £26 for the night, because it’s very near the central Station.
I thought I would order Ringits from the post office online, but there was a minimum purchase of £400. I basically used up my remaining food in the fridge.
I couldn’t figure out how to get rid of my bike, so I just left it in the bike rack at the car park outside Seasons..!! The bike was too heavy and I was never going to use it again.
I checked in online for Malaysia Airways flight and was given aisle seat 34G. I asked for an inhaler from/through the health centre but it would’ve required a Drs appointment. Judith had a spare one; it’s for peace of mind basically as I don’t know what allergies I might encounter.
I had hoped to see Frow Phil for a drink on Thurs, but he’s always so busy. Anyway, I had a couple of drinks at the Swan. I finished my 3 bottles of Tusker that I’d bought over a month earlier.
And that was it…my 3 months in England were up. It’s a huge thanks to Judith for letting me stay. We didn’t see much of each other this time, and in fact we only cooked once for each other.
The weather was excellent…only a very few rain days…hence a hosepipe ban came into force. So it was time for my next adventure.
Thurs 28th
My leaving day. By 10:30 I was itching to get going. I was fully packed and I had said goodbye to Judith. Bus to EG and over to Aldi to buy a chorizo sausage for the journey to the airport.
I passed the post office and sent £50..8,000Ksh to Mercy. I was early so went to Spoons for coffee. Just before heading to the station there was a torrential downpour. Although it subsided a bit, I still had to use my umbrella.
I caught the 13:06 and met up with Chantal at Clapham Junction. We had a couple of drinks and chatted for 2 hours. There were lots of topics to cover and she was on good form.
Train to Victoria then onto the District line. Unfortunately we had to disembark at Northfields due to some mechanical failure. I teamed up with a fellow traveller and we went outside and caught the E2 bus to Ealing, from where we caught the Elizabeth line to Heathrow. We kept calm and somehow we only lost about 45 minutes on the overall journey. I was glad I left early.
A quick T4 check-in and I was through security by about 18:15, having made sure I had finished my chorizo. I still had over 3 hours until take off. I was talking to a British guy over a drink, who couldn’t divulge where his army war wounds were inflicted. He left in a hurry for his flight and left his jacket behind.
A good flight. 12 n half hours. Was surprised the chicken dinner was flavourless. Egg and sausage breakfast was nice. The middle seat wasn’t occupied so the journey was comfortable; I drifted in and out of sleep.