The alarm went off at a quarter to 4, + we leapt up immediately from the bed, knowing that to take even a few mins lie-in would be disastrous. The hotel manager had told us that someone would wake us at 4 – it was as well that we didn’t rely on that undertaking, since we had to wake someone up to let us out. And then yet another of those plods thro’ the night, lugging our bags to the train stn. This was better than some – not too long a walk, + tea-stalls serving good tea on the stn platform. A bit of a rush for seats when the train arrived, but nothing too violent, + we managed one each. No chance of a berth tho’ – there’d already been people on the train before we got in, so naturally they had all made their claims. But things could certainly have been worse – we had some leg-room, a degree of privacy (our seats were on their own at the end of the carriage, that’s right, near the toilet) + we were on our way west. Next stop home.
As soon as it was light, I dived into my book, “The Jewel in the Crown”, the first volume in the Raj quartet by Paul Scott. Marvellous stuff, + just right for a long train ride. And this one was a long ride, 30 hours we were told, (and prepared for a couple more at the end.) Late in the evening, a man offered to swap places with Val, so that she could have a berth to sleep in – a kind gesture. I tried to sleep in the chair for a while, but ended up down on the floor, where it was damned cold, but where I was finally able to sleep.
And maybe, just maybe, we are coming towards the end of such journeys… though we shall see. And in comparison with many of our more recent experiences, it seemed to be relatively pain-free.
