Chris Hobson
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
I think it is important to keep trying new things, even at the age of sixty six. This time it's nothing too outrageous or spectacular but, until last weekend, I had never taken a coach trip to London to see a show. I remember school buses that used to bear the legend "Luxury Travel" on the back. As a kid I knew someone who had a Mk10 Jaguar, the opulent interior stuffed with leather, walnut and deep pile carpets was my definition of luxury travel so the school bus had, in my opinion delusions of grandeur. Fast forward to the twenty first century and the coaches are much more impressive, air-con, seat belts, adjustable armrests, picnic trays with cup holders, and a toilet so old gits don't have to suffer the anguish of a full bladder while longing for the next stop. No leather or walnut though. There are several pick up points to get around before the journey to London begins properly, Hull, Hessle, Goole and Ferrybridge. We got on at Hessle. The coach had numbered seats and you book specific seats when you sign up for the trip.
It is such a big plus to have everything organised for you and to have professionals do the driving, I have no idea where the hotel was as I didn't have to worry about it, it overlooked a dock of some kind. We got there early in the afternoon, the show started at six, so we had an few hours to get spruced up before we had to head for the coach again.The hotel was very nice, rather more ornate than the chain hotels that we usually frequent with a bit of an art deco vibe. This kind of trip has a bit more of an itinerary than we would have had if we had been organising it for ourselves. So we go to see our show, a review in a separate post is pending, and then we are shipped off to the O2 Arena, formerly known as the Millennium Dome, as there are numerous food outlets in the perimeter of the dome. This short journey was accompanied by a certain amount of drunk singing so that was nice. The combination of East Yorkshire accents and waitstaff who spoke English as a second language caused one or two communication difficulties so there was a certain amount of pointing at the menu. We had pizza and I also had the most expensive beer ever, nearly a fiver for 330ml. I wouldn't normally have paid such an exorbitant price but all the other drinks were similarly priced too. We had a slight detour on the ride back to the hotel as the Blackwall Tunnel was closed. The singing was a bit more subdued, I think that everyone was a little tired.
After a good night's sleep we got down nice and early for the buffet breakfast. I really love those, I can stuff myself with cereals, toast and a build it yourself English breakfast so I'm a happy man.
Next we are bundled off to Covent Garden and let out for a few hours to please ourselves. We went to the National Portrait Gallery. There I tried to stake my claim to being a polymath by being able to name lots of the people in the paintings no matter what they were famous for. In front of the wall of rock and pop stars, a young woman gave a talk on David Bowie. She had been a lifelong fan and during the covid lockdown, had decided to listen to all of his albums in chronological order. She mentioned a list of other artists that Bowie had collaborated with and asked us to come and chat and the end if we knew any others. She had omitted Lulu and Peter Frampton. I also mentioned that I took a girl to see Tin Machine in 1991, she asked how it went, we've been married just over 30 years I said.
It was nice to see bits of London that I normally only see on the telly or on the monopoly board. The mix of old and new buildings, Nelson's Column, Baker Street, Lords cricket ground to name a few. Finally we have our journey home with stops at Watford Gap and Ferrybridge. Altogether a fun adventure.
It is such a big plus to have everything organised for you and to have professionals do the driving, I have no idea where the hotel was as I didn't have to worry about it, it overlooked a dock of some kind. We got there early in the afternoon, the show started at six, so we had an few hours to get spruced up before we had to head for the coach again.The hotel was very nice, rather more ornate than the chain hotels that we usually frequent with a bit of an art deco vibe. This kind of trip has a bit more of an itinerary than we would have had if we had been organising it for ourselves. So we go to see our show, a review in a separate post is pending, and then we are shipped off to the O2 Arena, formerly known as the Millennium Dome, as there are numerous food outlets in the perimeter of the dome. This short journey was accompanied by a certain amount of drunk singing so that was nice. The combination of East Yorkshire accents and waitstaff who spoke English as a second language caused one or two communication difficulties so there was a certain amount of pointing at the menu. We had pizza and I also had the most expensive beer ever, nearly a fiver for 330ml. I wouldn't normally have paid such an exorbitant price but all the other drinks were similarly priced too. We had a slight detour on the ride back to the hotel as the Blackwall Tunnel was closed. The singing was a bit more subdued, I think that everyone was a little tired.
After a good night's sleep we got down nice and early for the buffet breakfast. I really love those, I can stuff myself with cereals, toast and a build it yourself English breakfast so I'm a happy man.
Next we are bundled off to Covent Garden and let out for a few hours to please ourselves. We went to the National Portrait Gallery. There I tried to stake my claim to being a polymath by being able to name lots of the people in the paintings no matter what they were famous for. In front of the wall of rock and pop stars, a young woman gave a talk on David Bowie. She had been a lifelong fan and during the covid lockdown, had decided to listen to all of his albums in chronological order. She mentioned a list of other artists that Bowie had collaborated with and asked us to come and chat and the end if we knew any others. She had omitted Lulu and Peter Frampton. I also mentioned that I took a girl to see Tin Machine in 1991, she asked how it went, we've been married just over 30 years I said.
It was nice to see bits of London that I normally only see on the telly or on the monopoly board. The mix of old and new buildings, Nelson's Column, Baker Street, Lords cricket ground to name a few. Finally we have our journey home with stops at Watford Gap and Ferrybridge. Altogether a fun adventure.
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