London, Pt. 6 (Return and Apocrypha)

Hey guys,

The London trip's over but I still do have a few more stories/things to say/things that I need to get down so I won't forget about them about it. Make sense? No? Read on, it'll be OK...

Our Guardian Angel

Everyone had talked about how confusing Heathrow airport was going to be. It wasn't. However, at Toronto airport, because we were going to be taking a connecting flight, we got a bit disoriented.

We got into a line that I believe said "Connecting Flights". It was a nightmare. So long that we might have had trouble getting on the flight to London, if not for a gentleman who seemed to appear out of nowhere.
"Wow. A little more busy than usual," he said.
I could only agree, having never been there before.
"Yeah," I replied.
Erica and I stood in line a few more seconds, when I noticed that everyone in the line, including Mr. Out-Of-Thin-Air, had pretty sizeable luggage.
"Do we need to be in this line if we're not checking any bags?" I asked him.
"No, no. Not if you're not checking any bags."
"Okay, man. Thanks."
And we were off to find out where we really needed to be.

We eventually did find out where we were supposed to be and settled down for something to eat. We sat and waited as a flight to Abu Dhabi was announced about fifty odd times. When it became time to board the plane to Heathrow, we showed our passes and got on board. Walking about two or three people in front of us was Mr. Out-Of-Thin-Air again. We made it to the back of the plane (where we were sitting) and I shared a smile and some passing conversation about bag storage with that fellow who'd helped us back in the airport. Erica and I gave each other mildly astonished looks as the fellow sat down in the seat directly in front of me.

The week in London came and went.

We went back to Heathrow to come home.

As we got to our gate and were preparing to sit to wait, Erica said, "Oh my God. Look."
"What?"
I thought we'd forgotten something.
"Look who's right over there," she said.
Sure enough, the helpful fellow from the baggage line, Mr. Out-Of-Thin-Air, was seated in the waiting area for the same gate.
"Wow," I said. "Pretty weird."

We boarded the plane, a slightly bigger one this time, to come home. Erica was not looking forward to the prospect of having to sit next to a total stranger for almost eight hours as we flew back into Canada to catch another connecting flight home. Her spirits were beginning to rise as it didn't appear the person was going to show. Just then, we heard talk coming up the aisle.
"Well, we could put you here," a flight attendant said.
"Yeah," came a male voice. "They said they just don't know if there's another aisle seat."
Mr. Out-Of-Thin-Air opened the overhead compartment, stowed one of his bags and sat down next to Erica.
He got his things in order, pulled out a book by Robert Jordan, sat and looked over at us.
"Hey. How was your week," I said.
"Hey! Not too bad! Yours?"

It escalated from there with us talking small talk but never getting each other's names. I wouldn't have been surprised if his name was Sauriel or something like that.



London Lit

As we travelled the Underground in London, I noticed signs for several books. Also, I noticed that there appeared to be a lot more "readers" in England than here in the States. Reading just seemed to be promoted more. So I won't forget and to give those interested a little taste of what IS being promoted there right now, here are the books that I saw several signs for:

-"We Need to Talk About Kevin" by Lionel Shriver
-"Nightshift" (I think that's the title) by Stephen Leather
-"206 Bones" by Kathy Reichs
-"The Strain" by Guillermo del Toro and Paul (Is that his 1st name?) Hogan

Also, after the whole visit, I personally need to read up on:

-William Shakespeare
-Charles Dickens
-Leonardo da Vinci
-Vincent van Gogh
-Jack the Ripper
-King Arthur
-Stonehenge
-The Kings and Queens of England
-Probably some other things that I forget right at the moment



And in closing...

Well, that probably should conclude my writings on the trip to England. It was a great experience and I've come back more knowledgeable about the city and country I visited but still wanting to know more, which is a reward in itself.

Ta for now. And...

Peace...