Arrival at Manchester Airport

Raining in Manchester.. But what can you expect in summer, it is northern England!

However my arrival at the very new airport was hassle-free and I was accepted no-fuss as an Aussie, got my Sim card for fifteen pounds and some cash from the atm. Then I decided to have a cuppa at the kiosk at the station, which was a large luke-warm cup of English breakfast tea, and a BLT sandwich, both totally forgettable at a cost of £7, about sixteen NZ dollars. I will never again question the cost of food in New Zealand. Also I very simply picked up my five prepaid tickets I booked in Wellington many moons ago. The website Trainline.com is very useful and I got some good deals, saving about one hundred dollars at least,  by booking well in advance on the internet.

Cafe looked nice, with books, a bit like Wellingtonbut I was told in no uncertain terms when I took this iPad photo..'No photos please!'

This is terrorist England I must remember, be careful.

The rain outside at twelve degrees celsius..lucky I brought my one sweater and scarf!

Warm tea in gigantic up..never to complain again in   NZ.

Buffet waiting room at Station at ManchesterAirport.

I had carefully made a booking for the 12.55 pm train to Richmond and now have a two hour wait at this quite insalubrious waiting room where I have had yet another hot drink, this time a large hot chocolate for three pounds -  really, the cost of living here is too much and I wonder how people survive. No doubt Anna will fill me in on this one when I see her later today.

However it is interesting looking at all the various people patiently waiting for their public transport. The English are famous for their queues and patience, and I, of course, am not. So another lesson for me, but I will try to get to the next Piccadilly train, although my ticket, very kindly printed out by the Indian cashier, says not valid till 12.29pm. I fear the worst - they will not not break a rule, or even bend it, although the trip to Manchester Piccadilly is only twenty minutes, and the trains are half empty. But a ticket is a ticket, and I am already blowing my nose and feeling a little unhealthy in this smoggy city.

Well, I was wrong -  he did bend the rules and I caught the earlier train into a much more interesting Piccadilly Station in downtown Manchester, although I didn't get the real Manchurian vibe as yet, all too modern and Marks and Sparks. But I walked around and spent thirty pence to go to the toilet, they still have some quaint ways here, with their tiny coins and small styles to penetrate the Public Toilets with very inefficient hand-driers to boot. But it is a friendly place with good feeling and it's very busy. 

I bought some food in M and S to take home tonight as Anna is not a keen cook although she is good when she gets going. Not an improviser like me however, so some chilled pizza is easy to cook for ten minutes in a hot oven. I hope she won't be insulted, I doubt it!

All is well with my room-mate Graham for the Seminar - he has sent me his mobile and is now staying with his Mum's sister not far from here. He sounds in good form and will be a nice person to share with for three nights at the ECK Seminar, the real reason I am here. The rest is social and fun. Also have confirmed with Brighton BnB Lesley for a later arrival on Friday, all good there!

Sitting at Piccadilly Station waiting for the train..

Am in the Virgin train I booked on Trainline.com to Euston, then on to Richmond. I am looking, and feeling, a bit peaked, which is understandable after twenty-seven hours travelling and not much sleep, but I have no jet-lag, so my theory that it happens only one way, that it is, West to East, against the clock, which creates the problem. The answer being, of course, to always circumnavigate the globe in the other direction. Simple, but expensive!