Wednesday 18th October 2023
I woke early ready to get cracking. My bag was almost packed but I wanted to do the last bit of laundry before I headed west to Glasgow.
I walked past the bridges to say goodbye to them. The tide was out and it was the first time I'd seen so much of the beach. Last night's ship was still parked across the bay at the marine terminal and the wind was a little chillier.
I have an irritating habit of being early. I tried very hard to take my time but I ended up 15 minutes early, for my lift, catching my uncle not long out of the shower. I thought I was getting better at being 'on-time' because it was pointed out that my being super early can put extra pressure on the people that I'm waiting for. But on my travels, I don't often need to rely on friends or family for lifts so I just head out when I'm ready. This morning I remembered my late friend telling me why my being early didn't help her but rather hindered. So I apologised to my uncle and I made a mental note to be more aware of my time keeping process.
My uncle drove me to the small station and I realised that I could catch any train to Edinburgh and not the later booked time. So we said our goodbyes and I jumped on my comfy, rather empty train. The 3 train trips went well and I love watching the countryside whizz by. It's interesting hearing so many local people who haven't used public transport in years. I do understand the ease of a car, particularly when carrying luggage in not great weather. But I love the ease of getting on a warm train and not have to worry about directions, ULEZ zones, finding parking and negotiating the road with big trucks. I've never loved driving, I do it in South Africa because I have to, but I prefer the ease of having a choice in the UK.
I got to Glasgow and I felt the usual buzz of this smaller but interesting city. There was hundreds of people down the pedestrian area and some buskers braving the cold to present their tunes to the world. I got on the wrong train but fortunately an official was sweeping the 'back train' for all of us who were waiting for the the front train. The notice board hadn't said anything specific about the front train, so I laughed at my already British response of internal moaning about the lack of signage. Then I smiled at the thought of the friendly official who had told us all to move.
I try not to compare worlds on either side of the globe, but sometimes I have to. Although the public transport isn't a fair comparison because I don't use it in SA although I would use it, if it was easier to use it.
Okay, lecture over. I had a great train journey to Glasgow and that's my day.
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