Those of you who don’t know me personally may be wondering where I’ve been lately.
I had the misfortune of taking a business trip to England last week. It was supposed to be quick; leave Tuesday on an overnight flight, arrive Wednesday AM, put in three long days and fly home Saturday morning. On Thursday I was made aware that the volcano in Iceland had made that unlikely, but nobody ever having lived through a catastrophe of this magnitude, we did not know what to expect. OK, my colleagues in London joked that perhaps I’d get to spend a weekend there, and we all kind of assumed that worst-case scenario, I might be seeing them again on Monday morning in the office.
On Saturday I had to reschedule my flight, and they put me on for Tuesday morning. And on Monday I was informed that the Tuesday flight would also be canceled, and that now the earliest they could fly me home is Saturday. Although I washed some socks and drawers in the bathtub, I am all but out of clean and presentable shirts and pants.
I spent the weekend wandering London, although I haven’t really done much because it’s boring and not fun to do things by yourself. Even the things you would normally enjoy, like shopping or going to museums or grabbing a pint at the pub – all strangely depressing when you’re alone.
All things considered, I can’t complain too much other than wanting to be home. The weather here has been absolutely fabulous although you’d think that the whole country is covered in some ominous cloud, it’s actually been quite sunny for the last 5 days and not a drop of rain. Also, the company I work for is paying for all of my lodging, most of my transportation, and most of my meals, so when I consider the situation in which any stranded non-business traveler might find herself, I’ve actually got it pretty good.
You know what they say, “If you can’t get out of it, get into it.”
When are you ever gonna get to London again?
Take advantage of the situation, turn it around.
I had the opportunity to go a long time ago but didn’t cause I didn’t want to go alone.
Now, I’m not alone but haven’t the means to get there.
Just do it.
I’m trying to find a pub which carries the NHL playoffs tonight… there is a Canadian pub called the “Maple Leaf” a short walk from here – I bet if anyone carries the NHL games, it’ll be on at that bar.
David – I’ve seen numerous mentions that now that guns are outlawed over there the crime rate has went through the moon, so be very careful.
My friend Emily lives in London. She went to Central. Want me to try and set you up with her?
yeah have her shoot me a note on Facebook or something. I’d be game for anything in this town now – what I really want is to watch the Wings game tonight… but after that pitiful performance the other night, I’m not sure it’s worth the $15 day pass to NHL Center Ice to watch it in Lo-Res on my laptop…
Im sure a place named the maple leaf should carry NHL hockey, why dont you go in and ask before the puck drops to find out?
I would’ve called. But they closed at 1130 tonight, which is when the game started.
And they got some pretty lousy recent reviews, looks like maybe ownership changed a few years ago and it went lame overnight.